Skift Take
Inquiries like these are often pretty brutal on company executives. Former CEO Peter Fankhauser shoulders a lot of responsibility for what went down at Thomas Cook, but he's not the only one at fault. The actions of his predecessors, as well as the UK government itself, are likely to also come under scrutiny.
Thomas Cook's rescue plan would have probably made it the "best-funded travel company in Europe," but the UK government's failure to offer a last-minute financial guarantee effectively brought about its collapse, according to testimony at an inquiry into the firm's insolvency.
The UK government’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee listened on Tuesday to evidence from former CEO Peter Fankhauser and former Chairman Frank Meysman on the first day of hearings that will explore the stewardship of the company in the years, months, and days before its bankruptcy.
As always when politicians and executives meet in the wake of a high-profile business failure, there was plenty of posturing from the former and grim-faced contrition from the latter. But amid this, there were some useful nuggets of information that help to better understand what happened. Here are five takeaways.
The Final Few Days
Given those appearing before the committee, it made sense for many of the questions to look at the days leading up to the morning on September 23. If decisions had gone differently, might the company still be around?
Whatever the merits of the Fosun-led rescue plan, it would have made Thomas Cook a much more financially stable business, so why didn’t it get over the line?
A major sticking point had been the emergence of a further request of $255 million (£200 million) from the banks involved.
In one testy exchange, committee chair Rachel Reeves, Labour MP for Leeds West, asked Meysman repeatedly why the company was no longer around.
“That, ultimately, at the end of that Sunday, the parties involved said that they were still willing to do the deal, provided that the government stepped in in one form or another. That was the case at 4 o’clock on that famous Sunday — that tragic Sunday,” he said.
“That was the statement from both Fosun and the representatives from the banks: ‘We
