Thomas Cook and Co-op merge travel operations
Thomas Cook and the Co-operative group have today announced the merger of their travel operations in a move which will see the formation of the second-largest retail travel operation in the UK, behind the post office. The combined company will be 70% owned by Thomas Cook and 30% owned by the Co-operative and become a massive force in the UK travel industry.
There is no doubt that there have been, and continues to be, a number of major merger opportunities in the UK travel industry with companies looking to slash their cost base and widen their appeal. The combination of these two large operations is likely to see other companies follow suit and the UK travel industry that we see today is likely to be very different in 12 months time.
In theory the larger the operations the more secure they should become financially and hopefully the less risk of collapse. There have been a number of high-profile collapses in the UK travel industry over the last few years and UK consumers were becoming more and more concerned. Eventually we should see stability return to the UK travel industry but this could take some time.
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