Statement re Sale of the Ferry "Bilbao"

3 December 2010



Statement re Sale of the Ferry "Bilbao"



Irish Continental Group plc ("ICG") announces that it has entered into an
agreement for the sale of the ferry "Bilbao" (formerly "Pride of Bilbao") to St
Peter Line, Nicosia, Cyprus.



The total consideration for the sale is €37.7 million, payable in instalments
over 5.75 years, up to September 2016. (The transaction is in the form of a
bareboat /hire purchase agreement under which the vessel is chartered by ICG to
St Peter Line and on payment of the final hire payment in September 2016, title
passes to the charterers). Delivery is expected to take place in December 2010.



ICG has owned the vessel since November 1993, when the ship was purchased from
its Swedish owners, Viking Line. The ship had been chartered by Viking Line to
P&O European Ferries ("P&O"), in 1993, for operation on P& O's routes between
Portsmouth in the UK and Spain and France. ICG acquired the benefit of this
charter when the vessel was purchased. The charter came to an end in October of
2010 having been extended on a number of occasions. In the current financial
year the vessel has generated charter revenue of €3.6 million and operating
profit of €1.5 million. The transaction is expected to result in a profit before
tax of approximately € 8.0 million in the year ended 31 December
2010. The proceeds of the sale will be used for ICG's  general corporate
purposes as they are received over the period to 30 September 2016.


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Source: Irish Continental Group plc via Thomson Reuters ONE