Source: Thomas Cook Group plc

Thomas Cook and LMEY through their joint venture, Thomas Cook Hotel Investments, have secured €40 million in the first tranche of debt funding. This initial tranche of funding will be provided solely by Piraeus Bank, which is the largest bank in Greece with long term experience in the hospitality sector.

The proceeds will be used to invest in hotel properties across Thomas Cook's key Mediterranean sun and beach markets, with this round of funding particularly focusing on opportunities in the Greek Islands. Further funding is being sought to acquire more properties around the Mediterranean.

Thomas Cook Hotel Investments currently includes hotel properties on Rhodes, Crete, Mallorca, Ibiza and mainland Spain. Thomas Cook Hotel Investments is investing over €7m in its Sunwing Kallithea hotel in Rhodes this winter and is opening a new Casa Cook in Ibiza in summer 2019.

Thomas Cook Hotel Investments was established in March 2018 to support the growth of Thomas Cook's own-brand hotel portfolio as part of the company's strategy of delivering greater control over its hotel inventory and customer experience. Its strategy is to acquire underperforming, distressed and underinvested hotels in Thomas Cook's core destinations and transform them into own-brand hotels.

Enric Noguer, chief officer of Thomas Cook Hotels & Resorts said, "This first tranche of funding is an important step to help us accelerate the growth of our hotel fund. In acquiring more hotels that we fully manage, we aim to generate better returns for the group and deliver higher customer satisfaction. We continue to seek further funding to enable us to acquire hotels around the Mediterranean where we can bring our hotel management expertise combined with the distribution power of our tour operator."

About Thomas Cook Group Plc.

Thomas Cook Group plc. is one of the world's leading leisure travel groups, with sales of £9.6 billion in the year ended 30 September 2018. It is supported by 21,000 employees and has 200 own-brand hotels. It operates from 16 source markets and serves over 22 million customers annually. Thomas Cook Group plc's shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (TCG).