NEWS 1
Hebridean Princess: Hebridean Island Cruises was sold last month
YOU NEED TO KNOW
AT A GLANCE All Leisure since 2015
December 2015: All Leisure sells Hebridean’s cruise ship, Hebridean Princess, for £2.9m to HP Shipping, and leases it back to continue operating Hebridean Island Cruises.
June 2016: All Leisure de-lists from the Alternative Investment Market of the Stock Exchange.
August 2016: All Leisure sells specialist operator Discover Egypt to its management.
December 2016: All Leisure Group sells Hebridean Island Cruises to a group of travel professionals.
All Leisure sells Hebridean and cancels group sailings
Lucy Huxley
lucy.huxley@
travelweekly.co.uk
All Leisure Group has sold off its Hebridean Island Cruises brand ahead of cancelling sailings with its other cruise operators Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery, it has emerged.
Hebridean was sold to a group
of travel professionals for an undisclosed sum about a month ago. In a further development,
All Leisure brands Just You and Travelsphere are now operating under G Adventures’ Atol. Neither All Leisure nor G Adventures confirmed whether the brands have been sold, but the websites of both businesses say holidays are operated by G Adventures. The changes heighten
speculation about the future of All Leisure, which sold operator Discover Egypt to its management in August last year. Hebridean Island Cruises - a one-ship luxury ocean cruise line which has been chartered several times for holidays by the Queen – is now owned by a group of investors led by All Leisure Group chairman Roger Allard. Board members include ex- Unijet boss Nigel Jenkins, industry accountant Chris Photi of White Hart Associates and Hebridean managing director Ken Charleson. Other shareholders in Hebridean Island Cruises Ltd include former Tui specialist division managing director John Wimbleton, ex- Panorama boss and Abta president Justin Fleming and the wives of former Thomson Holidays boss
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travelweekly.co.uk 5 January 2017
“All Leisure is disposing of a number of assets as it looks to streamline the group”
Peter Rothwell and First Choice Holidays chief Dermot Blastland, among others. Company secretary Photi
said: “All Leisure is disposing of a number of assets as it looks to streamline the group. Hebridean Island Cruises is a stable, profitable and well-established business with a loyal client following of high net-worth individuals.” He sought to reassure agents
that all forward bookings would be honoured and clients looked after. The news followed All Leisure cancelling January cruises with
December 30, 2016: All Leisure cancels Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery cruises due to depart this week.
January 2017: All Leisure brands Just You and Travelsphere listed under G Adventures’ Atol.
Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery for “operational reasons”. Swan Hellenic told some 300
customers booked on a voyage from Marseille to Tenerife, due to depart on January 3, that the 15- day trip would not be going ahead, while sister company Voyages of Discovery cancelled a ‘Riches of the Orient’ cruise, due to depart from Malaysia on January 4. Phil Nuttall, managing director
of The Cruise Village, said: “We don’t know what is happening. We had quite a few customers due to go on the cruises. It was totally out of the blue. We don’t know what is happening with refunds but I am sure the customers’
money will be protected.” Travel Weekly was unable to
reach Allard for comment on Tuesday before going to press.
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