Updated: Hays Travel to close 88 ex-Thomas Cook stores

The company had deferred reviewing the performance of the former Thomas Cook shops it acquired in October 2019 to see if business returned in 2021.

The shops that will close are all former Thomas Cook stores, apart from one which was formerly a Tailormade Travel branch.

The premises were reviewed having come to the end of their licence period.

The third national lockdown and travel ban leading to major holiday operators suspending flights and holidays, meant the company had to act, it said.

Jonathon Woodall, chief operating officer, said: “Our first priority is to continue to look after our customers and we offer the highest standards of customer service through our retail, phone and online divisions.

“We are continuing with our robust two-year business plan and continue to be ready for the bounceback when it comes.”

Dame Irene Hays, owner and chair of Hays Travel, added: “It was always our intention to review the performance of our shops at the end of the licence period – we had hoped the business would bounce back in January and it has not.

“We have done everything we could to safeguard jobs and the business thus far, and we have come up with a range of options for those at risk of redundancy to help as many colleagues as we can.”

Among other options, staff will be offered the chance to join the Hays Travel homeworking division, to work from home, or take positions in other shops where there is a vacancy.

Hays Travel currently operates 535 shops and employs 7,700 people.

During the lockdown, many staff are currently working from home, taking bookings for holidays for 2021 and beyond.

After Hays Travel announced consultation on 878 redundancies in its Foreign Exchange and Travel Academy in September 2020, 261 permanent and temporary jobs were saved; ultimately there were 451 redundancies with the remainder moving on to other opportunities.