Minoan to sell Stewart Travel for £6.5 million
Minoan has reached a conditional agreement to sell its travel and leisure division, Glasgow-based Stewart Travel, to Zachary Asset Holdings for £6.56 million.
As part of the deal, ZAH will lend Stewart Travel around £782,000 to repay its debt to Minoan.
Duncan Wilson, managing director of both Minoan and Stewart Travel, Rick Green and Brian Cassidy, who are members of its senior management team, will hold a 25% stake in Brooklyn Travel Holdings, Stewart’s parent company, following the sale.
Minoan said that it had tried to ensure ‘as far as they are reasonably able’ that Stewart Travel would carry on with business as usual following the sale.
Minoan shareholders will receive a circular today with the background to the deal and the reasons why the Board considers the sale to be in the best interests of the company.
It said its independent directors were all behind the deal and unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the transaction at a general meeting on October 8.
Minoan said the sale would the directors to concentrate on the group’s project in Crete, where it is planning to develop a new luxury resort.
It added the decision to offload its travel and leisure division ‘has not been taken lightly’ but said it had been unable to raise funds on acceptable terms to expand the division as fast as planned. ZAH took over Minoan’s debt in July and was pushing for a swift sale.
"With the grant of outline planning consent in Greece, the Group now needs to concentrate its efforts on optimizing the value of the project and monetizing it for the benefit of shareholders," it added.
Following the sale, Minoan will still owe £900,000 to ZAH.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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