The struggling company has issued a number of profit warnings this year and is now in talks with banks as it seeks to improve cashflow.

“The company is in discussions with its principal lending banks with regard to its facilities during the seasonal low period of cash in the business,” a statement from Thomas Cook said.

“While the Company currently remains in compliance with its financing covenants, it also intends to seek agreement from its lending banks to adjustments that will improve its resilience if trading conditions remain difficult.”

Thomas Cook’s full-year results were due this week, but the report will be delayed until the company’s talks with its banks are concluded.

While the winter months can prove slow for tour operators, the extent of Thomas Cook’s troubles appears to have spooked the City.

Key tourist markets such as Tunisia and Egypt have been hit hard by the Arab Spring, in turn impacting Thomas Cook’s revenue. The renewed violence in Egypt this week, together with the mass protests in another tourists hotspot, Greece, will not have helped matters.

In September, Thomas Cook stopped paying dividends and in August, chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa was replaced following the third profits warning of the year. The company is being run by an interim chief executive, Sam Weihagen.