TUI shareholders have bought more than 97% of new shares issued by the travel giant, which wants to raise €1.1bn to reduce the debt it built up during the pandemic.

It said it has received acceptances in respect of 511,465,249 new shares, representing 97.7% of the total number of new, heavily discounted shares offered to existing investors in the business.

It also said that it expects some 70,819,356 new shares to begin trading on the London Stock Exchange at 8am on 2 November.

When he announced the rights issue earlier this month, TUI CEO Friedrich Joussen said: “The Offering will enable us to take a significant step forward, increasing our ability to take advantage of the business opportunities resulting from the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

“It will provide us with a capital structure more appropriate for more normal operating conditions.”

After raising the additional capital, TUI will still be left with a debt of €762m.