Thomas Cook tells suppliers they will have to wait longer to be paid

Travel group warns it has become less bullish about trading conditions next year

Thomas Cook, which this week changed its chief executive without warning, has told some suppliers they will have to wait longer to be paid in a move that underlines the tour operator's worries about tougher trading conditions.

The group warned on Wednesday that it had become less bullish about trading conditions next year, and was now forecasting growth “at a moderate pace”. However, the caution was largely overshadowed by Harriet Green’s departure. Hundreds of millions of pounds were wiped off the group’s value on that day as shares fell 18 per cent.

A few weeks earlier the company sent a letter to suppliers of back-office services telling them it would now be paying them in 90 days as opposed to the 60-day period it had previously used. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014