All 555 high street stores that were operated by United Kingdom travel giant Thomas Cook before it went out of business on Sept 23 could be bought by rival company Hays Travel in a move that could save up to 2,500 jobs, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

The corporation said the company hopes to purchase the stores from the Official Receiver, which is winding up the vast 178-year-old company following its collapse.

The corporation said Hays has already employed 421 former Thomas Cook staff and plans to offer jobs to thousands more.

Hays currently has 190 shops in the UK.

It is not yet known how much the deal is worth or when it will be completed.