It was disclosed last Wednesday (31 July) that Kockar, who is chairman of Turkish holiday giant Anex Tourism, had snapped up a 6.71% stake in Thomas Cook.
Kockar has now increased his stake to 8%, a move which has more than doubled the value of Cook’s stock in just a week to more than 10p.
Cook’s shares have been languishing in the sub-10p range for the best part of a month before doubling in price from 4.45p when trading opened on Wednesday to 9.11p when it closed on Friday (2 August).
They opened at 9.59p on Monday (5 August) and were fetching 10.65p by 11am, their highest price since July 12.
Kockar is founder and owner of Anex Tour, which he set up in 1996. The company operates primarily in Russia and Eastern Europe, serving around three million holidaymakers a year.
His investment comes after Cook last month announced a major restructure, underpinned by £750 million fresh investment from its largest shareholder, Chinese travel firm Fosun, and its lenders.
Club Med owner Fosun currently holds an 18% stake in Cook but is set to become the majority shareholder in Cook’s tour operator business, and minority shareholder in its airline, subject to competition and regulator approvals later this year.
