To the thousands of Thomas Cook employees devastated by the sudden collapse of Britain's oldest travel firm — and left facing financial ruin and a very uncertain future — they are nothing short of saviours. 'We are really just very ordinary people from very humble backgrounds.'. Founded in Seaham, County Durham, Hays Travel boasts of having grown sales from £812 in its first year of business to more than £1bn last year. John Hays, the founder and co-owner Hays Travel, has died after collapsing while at work, it has been announced. Hays earned a degree in mathematics from the University of Oxford. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Since moving into their home in the South Tyneside village of Whitburn, bought for a relatively modest £685,000 in 2002, their parties have been held in their large garden on the first Sunday of July. John Hays, the founder of Hays Travel, has died. Irene recalls watching the news on 22 February and seeing that an Italian doctor on Tenerife had tested positive, with 1,000 guests at the hotel in Costa Adeje forced into quarantine. She was given the award for her work as chief executive of South Tyneside and Sunderland City councils but, during her 42-year career, she has also been key in the private sector, working with Japanese car-maker Nissan, which has a plant in the city. He adds: 'These people who worked for Thomas Cook didn't do anything wrong; one day, the company went into liquidation and their jobs had just gone and we feel very proud to be able to give them their jobs back. To the thousands of Thomas Cook employees devastated by the sudden collapse of Britain's oldest travel firm — and left facing financial ruin and a very uncertain future — they are nothing short of saviours. “I absolutely love seeing everyone enjoying themselves.”. We just do things differently.'. John responded by offering free travel insurance. Profit is not a dirty word. Ordinary? I recognise you from the telly," says 65-year-old Irene. We do like our parties. Hays Travel is to cut up to 878 jobs from a workforce of 4,500, the firm has announced. “John, who with his wife and co-owner Irene Hays bought the Thomas Cook retail estate a year ago, was at work in the company's Sunderland Head Office when he collapsed. It's only when you make a profit that you can re-invest and grow the business.'. Related Videos Hardly. 'We have a hog roast, live bands, prosecco and Pimm's and Irene and I go round pouring everyone's drinks. . John and Irene Hays joined the hosts live in the BBC studio this morning (January 16), but when they failed to answer one of Naga’s questions, the … Caught up in a mini-storm of their own, John, 70, has been sleeping on office sofas in their Tyne and Wear HQ and, with rents paid until Christmas, dashing around trying to locate keys from landlords of the Thomas Cook shops so they can re-open them as Hays Travel outlets. 'We all know they could put on their coats at 5.30pm on the dot and go home, but if they have a client in front of them they will stay late. HAYS TRAVEL has begun its new chapter opening five of its repurchased 550 Thomas Cook stores. We are certain we can make a success of it and profit. John was delighted with how the event had gone and that so many employees had made the effort to attend. Their phones haven't stopped ringing and their email inboxes are filled with thousands of messages of praise and thanks from complete strangers, one of whom — a retired teacher — described them as 'angels'. We don't make them — they want to because the customer is everything. A fiercely private couple, the Hays put their success down to their humble beginnings. The couple had already hired 597 former Thomas Cook staff after the firm went into liquidation on September 23 with the loss of 9,000 jobs, but after sealing the deal — for undisclosed millions — with the Official Receiver at seven minutes to midnight on Tuesday, they plan to take on its entire UK workforce. Instead, they've been frantically busy after snapping up the collapsed tour operator's 555 high street shops, saving 2,500 jobs. The news was confirmed by the company on Friday afternoon (November 13). Hays Travel Independence Group was formed in 1995 and the firm introduced homeworking in 1997. John Hays was awarded the Freedom of the City by Sunderland in 2016, and two years later, turnover hit the £1billion mark, with John marking the occasion by giving every member of staff a £100 bonus for each year of service. Irene, a successful business consultant and chair of the company, adds: 'Seeing the reports of Thomas Cook employees losing their jobs was very upsetting and we were very lucky to be able to step in quickly. Home U.K. John and Irene Hays of Hays Travel rescued 555 Thomas Cook shops. “This year I still wanted to say thank you, but it was a slightly bigger affair, with nearly 600 people partying the afternoon away. The brochure rack was made of chipboard and the counter was an old dressing table covered in laminate. John says: 'Thomas Cook was a great brand and we supported the company as travel partners right up until the end', 'My mum had been very generous in giving me space, rent-free, at the back of the shop, but she didn't want to give away any space for her racks, so to get to the travel agency you had to work your way through a slalom course of dressing gowns, baby grows, socks and dresses.'. John and Irene Hays of Hays Travel have agreed to rescue 555 Thomas Cook shops. Hays Travel founders John and Irene Hays have told BBC Radio 5 Live that due to the recent Spanish travel restrictions, they have had more cancellations than … 'Thomas Cook was a great brand and we supported the company as travel partners right up until the end. What a refreshing change from fat-cats who pay themselves millions while their companies sail towards oblivion, in Thomas Cook's case stranding 150,000 customers overseas and leaving their employees unable to pay the mortgage. 'I think we have just always run a business the same way for 40 years since it first started. But how can they possibly succeed where Thomas Cook failed? John Hays, the founder and managing director of North East-based travel firm Hays Travel, has died. The bill to the Government, which refused to bail out the 178-year-old company, to repatriate the 150,000 customers stranded overseas is expected to exceed £100million, 'We were the preferred bidder because, I am told, the two others were U.S. private equity firms who wanted to cherry-pick the most profitable shops, while we were willing to take on all of them and the entire staff.'. 'I feel a bit embarrassed, quite uncomfortable really,' John laughs, trying to remove the shiny halo he feels he doesn't quite deserve. Stirk's Wembley pizza sausage proves a real banger of an idea with Sunderland fans ahead of Papa John's Trophy final, Sunderland's new Seaburn Inn gets ready to open - here's how to book a room. She was later an advisor to Ministers and Secretaries of State in Whitehall, and a Permanent Secretary. 'We love travelling and customer service is at the heart of everything we do. 'We also had a party to celebrate. No wonder many of the new recruits were in tears at a welcome meeting and insisted on 'giving us a cuddle even though we didn't know them from Adam', says Irene.

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