Thomas Cook India expects demerger of resorts biz by October 2027; open to acquisitions: MD

New Delhi: Thomas Cook (India) Ltd expects the proposed demerger of its resorts and resort-management business into Sterling Holiday Resorts to become effective by October 2027, according to a top company official.

In an interview with PTI, Mahesh Iyer, Managing Director and CEO of Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, said the company expects the scheme to become effective by mid-FY28.

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"The application in respect of the composite scheme of arrangement has been filed before NCLT Mumbai. Accordingly, we expect the scheme to become effective by mid of FY28. However, the same is subject to the requisite regulatory and shareholder approvals," Iyer shared.

In March, the Board of Thomas Cook (India) Ltd (TCIL) approved a proposal for the demerger of the company's Resorts and Resort Management business into Sterling Holiday Resorts Ltd (SHRL) and a subsequent capital restructuring of TCIL.

Separately, on the company's inorganic growth strategy, Iyer said, Thomas Cook India remained open to exploring acquisitions and strategic partnerships that could strengthen its capabilities and accelerate growth across its businesses.

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"We remain open to exploring strategic partnerships and acquisitions that can strengthen our capabilities and accelerate growth across our businesses. In particular, we see significant potential in collaborating with or investing in technology-led platforms that can complement our existing ecosystem across leisure travel, corporate travel and forex.

"While we will continue to build on our existing strengths organically, partnerships and acquisitions can help accelerate access to emerging capabilities, integrate them into our ecosystem and respond more effectively to the evolving needs of travellers. Any such opportunity would be evaluated based on its strategic fit and long-term value creation," he said.

The company's growth plans come against the backdrop of a recovery in travel demand following geopolitical disruptions that affected sentiment and operating conditions across some international markets during the first half of FY27.

Iyer said business momentum had strengthened considerably in recent months, with the company's India travel businesses staging a sharp recovery during the July-September quarter (Q2 FY27).

"Our India Travel businesses staged a sharp recovery during the quarter, ending just 6 per cent below the previous year, with healthy EBIT margins of 3.8 per cent. Domestic and Short Haul travel led the recovery, supported by continued customer demand and a shift towards destinations offering better connectivity and value," he said.

The company expects this momentum to continue, with forward bookings for its India leisure travel business for the third quarter of FY27 pointing to healthy demand despite elevated airfares and other input costs.

"We expect to see healthy forward bookings of 30 per cent for the current quarter (Q3 FY27) for the India leisure travel business, signal positive future demand trends, despite elevated airfares and other input costs, and we expect this momentum to continue," Iyer said.