MyTravel continues to shed non-UK businesses

Monday, 21 Oct, 2003 0

MyTravel is selling its US cruise businesses and loss-making US tour operators.

It has agreed to sell The Cruise Business to National Leisure Group (NLG) for £65.9 million in cash.

MyTravel says the sale of the US companies, predicted by a top level industry source speaking to TravelMole earlier this month, is part of its ongoing programme of disposal of non-core businesses.

The troubled travel group continues to deny that the sale of a number of its businesses is designed to put the operator in better shape and prime it for a take-over by a rival. Earlier this month MyTravel announced it was selling off its loss-making German business Frosch Touristik along with its operations in Poland.

A spokeswoman for MyTravel told TravelMole that no-one in the company was available to comment as it is in a ‘closed period’ until the announcement of the preliminary results at the end of November.

However she did confirm that MyTravel still owns a number of US businesses, including operators, consolidators and marketing companies, some of which are yet to be sold off. Asked whether MyTravel was looking to dispose of all of its US businesses, she said: “We’ve never commented on that.”

The spokeswoman also denied that the disposal of more businesses was part of the conditions laid down by the company’s bondholders when they agreed to extend the maturity of bonds in September, securing MyTravel much-needed financing.

The US Cruise Business operates under the following brands: CruisesOnly, CruiseOne, Cruise Inc, Ship ‘n’ Shore and Landry & King. They made a combined opearting profit of £7.1 million in the year to 30 September 2002. The deal with NLG will complete in mid-November, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

The loss-making US operators that have been sold are Sun Trips and Vacation Express, which have been sold to FS Tours Inc for a total of £9.9 million.

Read our previous stories:
02-Oct-2003 MyTravel denies disposals pave way for its future sale
24-Sept-2003 MyTravel seat-only business to be sold?
16-Sept-2003 MyTravel secures financial lifeline
12-Sept-2003 Massive changes at MyTravel