Stewart Travel has around dozen retail travel shops under its umbrella in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland, in Belfast’s Castle Court.
As part of the deal, Jersey-registered Zachary Asset Holdings will lend Stewart Travel around £782,000 to repay its debt to Minoan. It’s understood 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 per cent 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. Minoan 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 decision to offload its travel and leisure division had 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 has been favouring a swift sale.
In 2012 Minoan bought Stewart Travel from Ayrshire businessman Willie Stewart who founded the company more than 40 year ago. At the time Minoan paid some £1.045 million for 80 per cent of the travel agency business.
