The Thomas Cook brand has been saved from obscurity after the Chinese owner of Club Med said it would buy the name for more than $14 million.

Fosun Tourism, which was seen a potential saviour of Thomas Cook before it went bust, is also acquiring the Casa Cook and Cook’s Club hotel brands.

Thomas Cook's demise in September sparked 22,000 job losses worldwide and triggered Britain's biggest repatriation since World War II, with the government paying to fly home 140,000 tourists

Hong Kong-listed Fosun, which was already the biggest shareholder in Thomas Cook and also owns France-based resort giant Club Med, had backed out of the eleventh hour deal to keep the debt-plagued company afloat.

Fosun will now take ownership of the brand rights to Thomas Cook as well as subsidiary hotel chains Casa Cook and Cook's Club under the terms of the purchase agreement, it said in a statement late Friday.

Fosun’s chairman Qian Jiannong, said the company “always believed in the brand value of Thomas Cook”.

He said: “The acquisition of the Thomas Cook brand will enable the group to expand its tourism business building on the extensive brand awareness of Thomas Cook and the robust growth momentum of Chinese outbound tourism.”