Thomson Travel Group

Last updated

Thomson Travel Group
Type Public
Industry Travel and Tourism
Founded1965;58 years ago (1965)
Founder Roy Thomson
Defunct2002 (2002)
SuccessorTUI Northern Europe Limited
Headquarters Luton, England
Area served
United Kingdom
Products Charter and scheduled passenger airlines, package holidays, cruise lines, hotels and resorts
Parent Preussag AG

Thomson Travel Group plc was a business formed by the Thomson Corporation of Canada, when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1998. It was acquired by Preussag AG, an industrial and transport conglomerate, in 2000. The group continued until 2002 when it was renamed TUI Northern Europe Limited, a full subsidiary of TUI AG.

Contents

History

The company was created in 1965 when Thomson Corporation of Canada acquired four tour operators, Skytours, Riviera, Luxitours and Gaytours as well as the airline Britannia Airways, and named the combined business Thomson Travel. [1]

Thomson travel agents in Wetherby, United Kingdom in 2012 Thomson, Market Place, Wetherby (1st February 2012).JPG
Thomson travel agents in Wetherby, United Kingdom in 2012

In 1970, the business was re-launched as "Thomson Holidays" under the leadership of Bryan Llewellyn as managing director. [2]

In 1972 Thomson acquired Lunn Poly, a small chain of agents which Thomson grew to become the largest chain of travel agents in the United Kingdom. [3]

In 1981, Thomson Holidays were the first recorded users of Business-to-Business online shopping. [4]

The business was floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £1.7 billion as Thomson Travel in May 1998. [5] [6]

In 2000, Thomson Travel was acquired by Preussag AG, an industrial and transport conglomerate. [7] Although Preussag AG, which re-named as TUI AG in 2002, retained the Thomson brand for a while, it was retired completely in 2017. [7]

Thomson Founders' Club

When Thomson Travel was floated in 1998, new shareholders were given membership in the "Thomson Founders' Club" which offered a 10% discount on Thomson holidays. Membership was conditional on retaining a minimum of 294 shares, but when Thomson Travel was acquired by Preussag membership of the Founders' Club was made permanent and unconditional. However, on 31 January 2008 the Club was abolished without notice or compensation. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hapag-Lloyd</span> German transportation company

Hapag-Lloyd AG is a German international shipping and container transportation company. It was formed in 1970 through a merger of Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and Norddeutscher Lloyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FTSE 100 Index</span> Share index of the London Stock Exchange

The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie", is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalisation. The index is maintained by the FTSE Group, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group.

Britannia Airways was a charter airline based in the UK. It was founded in 1961 as Euravia and became the world's largest holiday airline. Britannia's main bases were at London Gatwick, London Stansted, London Luton, Cardiff, Bristol, East Midlands, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, and Glasgow. It had its headquarters at Britannia House in Luton.

Lunn Poly was, at one time, the largest chain of travel agents in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TUI Group</span> German travel company

TUI Group is a German leisure, travel and tourism company. TUI is an acronym for Touristik Union International. TUI AG was known as Preussag AG until 1997 when the company changed its activities from mining to tourism. It is headquartered in Hanover, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexei Mordashov</span> Russian billionaire and businessman

Alexey Alexandrovich Mordashov is a Russian billionaire businessman. He is the main shareholder and chairman of Severstal, Russia's largest steel and mining company.

A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via automobile, buses, charter airline, and may also include travel between areas as part of the holiday. Package holidays are a form of product bundling.

Reuters Group plc was a British multinational media and financial information company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It was acquired by the Thomson Corporation in 2008, forming Thomson Reuters, and moved its head office to Toronto.

First Choice Holidays Limited is a British online travel agency and tour operator, headquartered in Luton, England. It is a subsidiary of TUI UK, itself a subsidiary of TUI Group, and its holidays are sold solely online. It also operates own brand hotels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Brunton</span> British businessman, publisher, racehorse owner & breeder (1921-2017)

Sir Gordon Charles Brunton was a British businessman, publisher, racehorse owner and breeder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Cook & Son</span> British transport and travel company (1841–2001)

Thomas Cook & Son, originally simply Thomas Cook, was a company founded by Thomas Cook, a cabinet-maker, in 1841 to carry temperance supporters by railway between the cities of Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Birmingham. In 1851, Cook arranged transport to the Great Exhibition of 1851. He organised his first tours to Europe in 1855 and to the United States in 1866.

The Polytechnic Touring Association was a travel agency which emerged from the efforts of the Regent Street Polytechnic to arrange UK and foreign holidays for students and members of that institution. The PTA became an independent company – though still with close links to the Polytechnic – in 1911. Later it changed its name to Poly Travel, before being acquired in 1962 along with the firm Sir Henry Lunn Ltd. A few years later, the two firms were merged and eventually rebranded as Lunn Poly. The PTA was one of a number of British travel agencies formed in the latter part of the 19th century, following on from the pioneering efforts of Thomas Cook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TUI Airways</span> Charter airline of the United Kingdom

TUI Airways Limited is the British arm of the TUI Airline group, which is owned and operated by the TUI Group. They offer scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalgety plc</span> Australasian stock and station agency

Dalgety plc—as Dalgety and Company—was for more than a century a major pastoral and agricultural company or stock and station agency in Australia and New Zealand. Controlled from London it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and Australasian exchanges.

TUI Travel PLC was a British leisure travel group headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex. The company was formed on 3 September 2007 by the merger of First Choice Holidays PLC and the Tourism Division of TUI AG, which owned 56.4%. The company operated in 180 countries and claimed 30 million customers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puregold</span> Supermarket in the Philippines

Puregold Price Club, Inc. or simply Puregold is a chain of supermarkets in the Philippines trading goods such as consumer products on a wholesale and retail basis. It currently has approximately more than 400 operating stores and over 20 food service stalls.

Peter Long is an English businessman. He is the chairman of Royal Mail and Countrywide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">On the Beach (business)</span> UK travel agency

On the Beach Group plc is a UK-based travel retailer specialising in short and medium haul ‘Flight + Hotel’ holidays to Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Frenzel</span> German businessman

Michael Frenzel is a German business executive. He was the chief executive officer of TUI AG from 1994 to 2013. Since 2018 he is a World Travel and Tourism Council ambassador. He studied law and holds a doctorate.

Sebastian Ebel is a German manager. From 2007 to 2020, he was President of the sports club Eintracht Braunschweig.

References

  1. Calder, Simon (18 October 2017). "UK's biggest holiday firm rebrands from Thomson to TUI" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  2. Thomson Holiday changes The Times, Tuesday, 24 June 1969; pg. 20; Issue 57594
  3. "Lunn Poly going away for good". The Telegraph. 6 November 2004. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  4. Palmer, C (1 December 1988). "Using IT for Competitive Advantage at Thomson Holidays: Long Range Planning" (PDF). Institute of Strategic Studies Journal, London Pergamon Press now Elsevier B.V. pp. 26–29.
  5. SFA launches Thomson inquiry: Criticism prompts extension of perks for investors The Times, Saturday, 9 May 1998; pg. 27; Issue 66199
  6. Quick profit for Thomson fans The Times, Tuesday, 12 May 1998; pg. 29; Issue 66199
  7. 1 2 "Goodbye Thomson, hello TUI – how Germany beat Britain in the battle of the sunlounge". The Telegraph. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  8. "Thomson Founder's Club". Thomson Holidays.