6 December 2016 – exit from joint venture
The Co-op has served notice to exit the joint venture that was set up with Thomas Cook Group in 2011, which has operated the UK retail travel branches of both businesses. The agreement will see the Co-op receive £50m plus interest in return for its shares in the joint venture by 30 November 2017. A payment schedule has also been agreed for the guaranteed minimum dividend of £31.9m, with £20m due on 3 January 2017 and the remainder on 3 April 2017. Interest will be payable on both instalments. This is seen as being marginally positive so we keep our BUY rating for now, although the shares have had a good run and there may be better opportunities around.