Minoan lops off Stewart Travel arm

Glasgow-based travel and leisure company Minoan has agreed to sell its subsidiary Stewart Travel for a total of £6.56m.

In addition to the sale to Zachary Asset Holdings, Minoan revealed that ZAH would lend Stewart Travel an undisclosed amount of funds, enabling the outfit to repay its intercompany debt due - which was estimated to be approximately £781,749.

Minoan said the decision to dispose of Stewart Travel had "not been taken lightly", but noted that its inability to raise funds on acceptable terms and difficulties associated with the date for repayment of the unit's existing facility agreements left it with no other option.

The AIM-listed firm also noted that after being granted outline planning consent in Greece, Minoan saw the need to concentrate its efforts on optimising the value of the project before monetising it.

Minoan said: "Despite having to make the difficult decision to dispose of Stewart Travel, the company remains hopeful that the next twelve months should see significant progress toward the monetisation of the project."

As of 0900 BST, Minoan shares had tumbled 18.18% to 4.50p.