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Former Norwegian boss tries to block Virgin cruise venture
Richard Branson and his Virgin Group is being sued for more than $300 million by the former chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line, who is also trying to block Branson’s move into the cruise market.
Colin Veitch, who led Norwegian from 2000 to 2008, claims the British entrepreneur and his Group stole his ideas and business plans for the new cruise line now being proposed.
Virgin announced last week that it’s going to commission the building of two giant ships, at a total cost of over £1 billion, to offer cruises out of Miami. The cruise line will be led by Tom McAlpine, who was part of the original Disney Cruise Line management tema.
But Veitch has asked a judge in the US to stop Virgin from going ahead with the plans after claiming Branson has reneged on a deal made in May 2011 for profits from the company to be split with his company VSM Development.
In a lawsuit filed in Miami federal court, he alleges that he came up with the proposal for the two ‘ultra’ ships and he was promised $315 million if his profit projections were met.
Virgin, which is contesting the claim, said the Group had been considering breaking into the cruise market since the late 1970s.
A spokesman told the Telegraph that it had been in discussions with a number of parties, including Veitch, but those discussions ended in 2012.
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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