RBS rescues Thomas Cook

 

The move has seen RBS’s Global Restructuring Group lend a large proportion of the additional £100m in debt agreed between Thomas Cook and its other three main lenders on Friday night. RBS intervened midweek having played no part in Thomas Cook’s first £100m rescue refinancing in October. City sources said it was normal for existing lenders to share equally any additional lending that is required when restructuring companies. RBS, which is 83pc owned by the taxpayer, rejected any suggestion that it had been put under political pressure to intervene, following David Cameron’s request on Wednesday for the Business Department to update him on Thomas Cook’s chances of survival. It is understood RBS acted to protect its existing exposure to the beleaguered travel operator – it is one of 17 banks that have now extended £1.1bn in debt. However, it is understood that it raised concerns midweek that Thomas Cook’s negotiations with Barclays, HSBC and UniCredit were not moving as quickly as the situation required. The RBS team led the debt restructuring of MyTravel, now part of Thomas Cook, which saw the company’s lenders swap £800m of debt for equity. News of RBS’s intervention came as Thomas Cook revealed plans to repay the £200m bail-out facility agreed on Friday night within a year and that it is close to selling a chain of Spanish hotels under a strategic review of the entire group.