Thomas Cook India reiterates that it is a completely separate entity from Thomas Cook UK

Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director of Thomas Cook (India) 

With the recent developments relating to the iconic British Travel Company, Thomas Cook PLC, being reported in the media, it is imperative to highlight that Thomas Cook India Group is a completely different entity since August 2012 when it was acquired by Fairfax Financial Holdings (Fairfax), a Canada based multinational with varied interests across the globe as well as in India. 

Post transfer of its entire stake in Thomas Cook (India) Limited to Fairfax, Thomas Cook UK ceased to be the promoter of Thomas Cook (India) Limited from the said date and since then, Thomas Cook UK has had no stake in Thomas Cook (India) Limited. The last seven years have been fruitful as we continue to grow and build our legacy as an independent entity after Fairfax Financial Holdings acquired a 77 percent stake in Thomas Cook India Ltd. (TCIL) in 2012. 

Thomas Cook (India) is a leading integrated transnational travel and travel related services company offering a broad spectrum of services that include Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel, MICE, Leisure Travel, Insurance, Visa and Passport services and E-Business.

It operates leading B2C and B2B brands including Thomas Cook, SOTC, Sterling Holidays, TCI, SITA, Asian Trails, Allied T Pro, Australian Tours Management, Desert Adventures, Travel Circle International Limited, Travel Junkie (Ithaka), Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI), Private Safaris East & South Africa – across 29 countries, making it one of the largest travel companies in the Asia Pacific region. 

A press release issued on the behalf of the company read, “We believe that it is important that we clarify for the record that Thomas Cook (India) Limited is financially strong, profitable and maintains a positive outlook in the travel and tourism sector and continues to witness strong growth.”

The Thomas Cook India Group’s cash and bank deposits balances stand at Rs. 13,890 Mn. as of June 30, 2019.
On a standalone basis, Thomas Cook India is debt free upon pre-payment of Rs. 670 Mn debenture obligations ahead of schedule. This has been made possible using stable and strong cash flows that the Thomas Cook India Group is generating year over year. The Group generates an average annual free cash flow of around Rs. 2500 Mn.