Morning:
14°c
Travel outfit founder's ticket to £25m
18.12.08
A travel entrepreneur was £25 million richer today after selling his business to Thomas Cook.
Gold Medal, a long-haul tour operator founded in 1984 by Ken Townsley, arranges flights to 1500 destinations worldwide.
Townsley, the chairman, lost his chief executive a few years ago, and remarked that he had been “dragged out of retirement like Barbra Streisand”.
He reaped the rewards today. Thomas Cook is paying £24.9 million for a 50% stake, with Townsley holding the rest, for now at least.
Townsley has worked in travel for much of his life, starting as a baggage handler at Blackpool Airport. Gold Medal's brands include Netflights.com and Pure Luxury. It employs 500 at its Preston headquarters, and is run by Terry Fisher.
Thomas Cook chief Manny Fontenla-Novoa is keen to expand in the independent travel market.
