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Retail & Consumer

Thomas Cook returns as online travel firm after £11m brand acquisition

Chinese company Fosun Tourism Group has acquired the brand for £11m a year on from the firm's collapse

Fosun Tourism Group has bought the Thomas Cook brand and operates it as an online venture(Image: David Haber/scunthorpelive)

The Thomas Cook brand is making a return after being turned into an online travel company by new owners.

Chinese firm Fosun Tourism Group acquired the brand for £11m, a year after the 178-year-old travel company collapsed.

The new version began selling holidays online and over the phone today, September 16, but does not have a high street presence.

When Thomas Cook collapsed its estate of 555 stores were all snapped up, together with staff, by Sunderland's Hays Travel.

The reinvented Thomas Cook employs around 50 people and retains the brand's logo.

Alan French, who was group strategy and technology director at Thomas Cook when it collapsed, has been hired as º£½ÇÊÓÆµ chief executive of the new travel agency and described the relaunch as "an honour".

He said: "What happened last year was a tragedy at a personal level for many thousands of my former colleagues, our business partners and of course our loyal customers.

"The resilience and affection still felt for the Thomas Cook brand reflects the huge commitment and professionalism of those former colleagues. We are very much in their debt and hope to have their backing as we look to take the brand into a new era."