27 Jun 2008 07:00
RNS Notification required by DR3.1.4R(1)
Thomas Cook Group PLC
Purchase of ordinary shares of €0.10 in Thomas Cook Group plc ('Shares' and the 'Company', respectively) by Directors of the Company and Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibility (PDMRs) under the terms of its Co-Investment Plan ("COIP") And an award of options under the terms of its Performance Share Plan (PSP).
The Trustees, Halifax EES Trustees International Limited (the 'Trustee'), notified the Company on 26 June 2008 that:
It acquired the Shares set out below as nominee for the following Directors and other PDMRs for the Company under the terms of the Co-Investment Plan (COIP) on 25 June 2008:
| Director | Number of shares acquired at 236.67p on 25 June 2008 | Total holding of shares following this acquisition |
| Manny Fontenla-Novoa | 169,010 | 239,653 |
| PDMR | Number of shares acquired at 236.67p on 25 June 2008 | Total holding of shares following this acquisition |
| Juergen Bueser | 21,126 | 21,126 |
It granted options to acquire the following shares for nil exercise price in order to provide the matching share entitlement under the COIP to the following Directors and other PDMRs for the Company:
| Director | Number of shares over which options granted | Date of Grant | Exercise price | Total number of shares over which options held following this notification |
| Manny Fontenla-Novoa | 591,535 | 25 June 2008 | nil | 1,264,895 |
| PDMR | ||||
| Juergen Bueser | 73,941 | 25 June 2008 | nil | 88,339 |
The COIP was approved by shareholders at the Company's AGM on 10 April 2008. It operates as follows:
Executive Directors and Senior Executives are eligible to participate;
Under the terms of the COIP participants in receipt of bonuses paid in connection with the synergy savings related to the merger may be invited to acquire shares and receive a COIP award;
The number of matching shares which may be awarded to a participant is limited to three and a half shares for every one Lodged Share purchased by the participant; And
A COIP award will "vest" only at a time or times between the third anniversary of its date of award and the tenth anniversary of that date. At the time of the award a performance target will be set which must be satisfied before it can vest. Such targets will normally be measured over a three year period.
It made an award under the Thomas Cook Group plc Performance Share Plan (PSP) to the following Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibility:
| PDMR | Number of ordinary shares of €0.10 over which options granted | Date of Award | Exercise price | Total number of shares over which options held following this notification | Total holding of shares following this notification |
| Angus Porter | 266,179 | 26 June 2008 | Nil cost | 266,179 | 10,428 |
- The nil cost option granted to Mr Porter will vest and become exercisable three years from the date of the grant subject to performance conditions being satisfied and will lapse if not exercised within ten years of the date of grant.
Each of the executive directors falls within the class of discretionary beneficiaries of the Thomas Cook Group plc Employee Benefit Trust and is therefore deemed, pursuant to the Companies Act 1985, to be interested in all of the 1,586,771 ordinary shares in the Company held by that Trust. Such interests are in addition to the interests disclosed above in relation to a Director.
Name and Contact Number :
Derek Woodward : 0207 034 7578
Carolyn Trousdale : 0207 034 7552
Date 26 June 2008