Thomas Cook pulls plug on Egypt and Lebanon Harriet Green, chief executive, said the sale would enable the group to focus more of its capital and resources on its core business. She has completed the first stage of an extensive reorganisation programme since arriving 16 months ago and has been working on a second. The first saw the closure of high street outlets and the loss of 2,500 jobs and a reduction in its £800m debt mountain. The balance sheet was strengthened by raising £1.6bn after losses totalling £590m in the year end September 2012. Overall the programme is expected to save the group £400m a year or around 20pc of gross profits. The next cost cutting stage is expected to accompany this year's results in November. One of the targets is IT systems which are expected to account for a large slice of the planned £145m savings.