Thomas Cook reveals €300m bond raise in the hope of reducing core facilities by £200m
Thomas Cook today revealed plans for a new corporate bond to raise at least €300m (£256m) in an attempt to strengthen its balance sheet.
The travel group has a hefty £1bn on corporate bonds currently placed on the market and plans to use the latest issuance to fund repayment of £200m of bonds which mature in 2017 and part of a later bond maturing in 2020.
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The new notes would have a maturity of 2022 with an option for Thomas Cook to repay them after two and a half years.
Thomas Cook said by extending its debt profile it will have sufficient wriggle room to more efficiently run the business and achieve its target of reducing lending by £200m within the next two years.
Read more: Thomas Cook takes £10m profit hit after rocky year for tourism
Chief executive Peter Fankhauser said the results proved progress had been made in "a difficult year for tourism". The market appeared to agree with his sentiment as shares jumped around nine per cent in the wake of the results.