The future of travel agent Thomas Cook is up in the air amid claims it's considering a sale to a Chinese investment company.
The 200-year-old firm is reportedly set to sell some, or all, of its ailing business under major restructuring plans.
It follows a turbulent year of falling demand for package holidays, partly blamed on the UK heatwave, which forced the chain to release a two separate profit warnings in 2018.
Thomas Cook, which took 22million people abroad last year said it swung to a pre-tax loss of £163million in 2018.
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Two months ago Thomas Cook announced a "strategic review" of its airline business , including a possible sale over concerns about the company's future.
At the time, Lufthansa hinted it was interested in purchasing its German airline Condor, but no comments were made official.
In March, the business then revealed plans to close 21 high street stores at a loss of 320 jobs - with more expected to follow across its 566-store network as sales of package breaks continue to plummet.
Now, Chinese investment company Fosun International — Thomas Cook’s largest shareholder, with a 17% stake — is interested in bidding for its travel agent arm, according to reports.
As part of the deal, Thomas Cook would first have to sell its airline business, which has a fleet of 105 planes across Germany, UK and Scandinavia.
"Thomas Cook is a business with an extremely long heritage and a strong household name which is why it’s viewed as an attractive business," said Patrick Coffey, an analyst at Barclays.
Peter Fankhauser, Thomas Cook’s chief executive, said: "Customers don’t just want to book their holiday online, they also want to pick the room in which they will stay or their spot by the pool before they even set off."
Mirror Money has approached Thomas Cook for comment.
