Tour operator Tui to raise £1.5bn to repay Covid aid

GERMAN travel agent Tui plans to raise €1.8bn (£1.5bn) to pay back pandemic state aid.

The package tour operator will sell new shares to investors, with the exception of its biggest shareholder, the sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexey Mordashov. Unifirm, which is controlled by the billionaire’s family, indirectly holds 30.91pc in the company

Tui plans to use the funds from its rights issue to repay aid that was granted at the height of the pandemic. The company received more than €4bn in support from Berlin and is yet to repay about half that sum.

Travel around the globe has made a strong comeback over the past 18 months and Tui said the “encouraging” booking momentum it reported in the middle of last month has continued.

The stock fell as much as 8.9pc on news of the fundraising plans. Its London-listed shares closed the day down 2.4pc at £13.80.

Mr Mordashov was sanctioned by the EU and America following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.