The husband and wife team who bought Thomas Cook’s network of high street travel agencies out of liquidation say they have offered nearly 2,000 of the company’s former staff a job and reopened 186 of its shops.

John and Irene Hays, who run the Sunderland-based Hays Travel, bought the collapsed tour operator’s 555 shops in a surprise deal this month that promises to rescue up to 2,500 jobs.

In an update on their progress, they said they hoped to reach the jobs target soon and had made offers to 1,982 of the 9,000 staff whose livelihoods were put at risk when the firm failed.

“We have had a fantastic response to the news that we are keeping your favourite shops open with the same lovely people to continue to give you excellent service and great value,” they said.

“The colleagues we have now welcomed into the Hays Travel family are really keen to get back to finding everyone the holiday of their dreams as soon as possible.”

On Tuesday, speaking at the first session of a select committee inquiry into the 178-year-old tour operator’s implosion this week, Thomas Cook’s former chief executive, Peter Fankhauser, said the business was not profitable enough. It reported earnings of just £11m despite selling 60% of the company’s holidays, he added.

But John and Irene Hays, who built their profitable travel agency with no debt, have said they can make a success of the business where Thomas Cook directors failed, pointing to rising sales of package holidays.

There has also been interest in other parts of the Thomas Cook empire, with investment firm Triton reportedly interested the Nordic business.

The official receiver, a government employee overseeing Thomas Cook’s liquidation, is in charge of discussions with potential buyers for the firm’s assets.

As of 14 October, the official receiver said 8,156 Thomas Cook staff in the UK have been made redundant, 89 have left voluntarily and 809 have been retained during the liquidation process.