Thomas Cook - 10% Shareholder Discount for approx £90

Bloomsbury

This is an unusual 'bargain' that I just came across while doing some share research.

Thomas Cook shareholders who own more than 500 shares are entitled to a 10% discount. See details at the Thomas Cook Group website (turns out I can't post links). Just search for 'Thomas Cook Shareholder Discount'.

With the recent collapse in the company's share price, today around 18p per share, there's a great opportunity to save some money on future holidays.

Today (30/11/11) their shares at the time of writing are less than 18p each, so you could buy 500 shares for approx £90 + any share dealing fees.

Of course, whether you want to spend the £90 will depend on how safe the future of Thomas Cook is. I can't comment on that, that's for you to decide. But potentially you could save money on future holidays with the discount. Just a single family holiday could easily make this investment worthwhile.

Plus there is of course the potential for the shares to increase in value. They were £2 each at their peak in January. So there's easily potential to make quite a few pounds on your investment.

Catches? Well make sure you understand the terms of the discount first by reading the Thomas Cook website I referred to above. You have to book by phoning a special line (can't do it online or in-store). It also says '10% off the latest high street price', so certain special offers that you see online for example are unlikely to be eligible. Most importantly, you must own the shares for 6 months prior to using the discount, so this isn't an 'instant discount'.

Hope this helps someone! Thought it was worth sharing for someone who may often use Thomas Cook or their brands.

bcl999

Yes, it is worth sharing - thanks.

There are quite a few companies offer similar, I know some of the cruise (Cunard? P&O?) companies do it. It might be worth starting a sticky thread - not sure if here or in the "shares" forum though.

d61mts

Just to give some info to anyone interested in this that you have to have owned the shares for at least 6 months to get the discount, so if you're thinking about it for next summer's holiday you'd have to sit it out for a bit before booking. Also bookings have to be made over the phone, rather than instore or online wich could exclude you from some offers such as online discounts. Certainly if you were interested and it fits your needs with the share prices so low it could be worth it, but for others shopping around for a deal less attractive.

bcl999

Think OP already mentioned all that in his/her post.