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Cruise1st confirms management buyout
Cruise1st has confirmed a management buyout as it gears up for ‘significant’ growth.
The Manchester-based cruise specialist was put up for sale by parent Royal Caribbean in June.
The company said its 100-plus staff in the UK, Australia and Singapore will all stay with the business and it will be recruiting for more.
It says the buyout will allow the company to grow independently and increase its market share.
"The best option for the company was the management buyout, which meant keeping stability in the business with a management team that knows the business inside out," said CEO Dan Townsley, who led the buyout with joint owners Caspar Moore, finance director, and Carl Frier, managing director for Australia and Singapore.
"This management buyout will allow Cruise1st to become a real force in the market. Working with Royal Caribbean over the past seven years has been fantastic and its support has been crucial in the growth of our company.
"We are confident that the new ownership will allow the business to grow and succeed, supported by our ability to be nimble and expand into new product ranges with more cruise lines."
Cruise1st said it has grown by 62% so far in 2015, with a 50% growth in its call centres.
It expects this to double by the end of 2016 as a result of the change in ownership.
"We have a clear and strategic five-year growth plan, which we intend to meet through efficiency, technology product, and customer service," added Townsley.
Founded in 2000, cruise1st was bought by Island Cruises in 2003 and became wholly owned by Royal Caribbean in 2008.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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