Speaking to TTG as eSky’s acquisition was confirmed in China and the UK, French said he saw opportunities to strengthen the brand’s position in Ireland and to offer more long-haul using its new owner’s flight stock.
French said the business carried around 100,000 UK passengers last year with total transaction value of around £90 million, and had made a “small profit” in the first half of 2024 with a UK market share of around 2%.
This had followed two years of losses, he said. “We launched the business very quickly in 2020 at what we thought was the back end of Covid,” French told TTG.
Thomas Cook acquired by Poland’s eSky Group
In a statement, Cook’s original backers, China’s Fosun Tourism Group, explained the reason for the sale. “After evaluating the business and financial performance, the board is of the view the target company does not meet the group’s strategic goals," it said. "The disposal will mitigate the risk of further financial losses."
Fosun said eSky would pay up to £30 million for Cook. The announcement in China revealed Cook lost £15 million in the 2022 calendar year and £4.2 million in 2023, adding Cook has negative equity of £32.8 million.
The Chinese group, which held an 18% stake in Cook when the original airline, operator and agency business collapsed in September 2019, said it would make “no more than” £7.7 million from the deal.
It paid around £11 million for the Cook brand and several of its assets in November 2019.
French declined to comment on the figures or the reasons for the sale, but said the deal was a win for both Cook and its new Polish parent company.
“They have 20 years’ experience to bring in flying," he said. "We are experts in hotel sourcing. They are primarily eastern Europe and we are UK, so the opportunity for synergies is very clear.”
He added there were growth opportunities in Ireland. However, he admitted the Cook brand “does not have a lot of resonance in eastern Europe”.
French said the UK brand would undergo “fine tuning” rather than a big switch to new products, but would look to add more long-haul options using eSky’s flight inventory.
