Small disposal by cash-strapped Thomas Cook

Thomas Cook, the travel firm which came perilously close to bankruptcy earlier this month, has sold a property in the Netherlands to boost its cash flow.

The building is located in the town of Hoofddorp in the north of the country and will give Thomas Cook €18m in much needed cash.

The property is being bought by FN2, a subsidiary of the Fotex Group. It will pay €11m before the end of this year, then a further €4.2m by 31 March 2012. The balance of €2.8m will be deposited into escrow.

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Thomas Cook said the sale is part of its £200m "disposal programme" of non-core assets which it plans to complete over the next 18 months. The proceeds will be used to pay down the groups debts.

BS