Scottish Enterprise Grant

RNS Number : 8000R

Minoan Group PLC

10 November 2011

 



MINOAN GROUP PLC

("Minoan" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Scottish Enterprise Grant

HIGHLIGHTS

·      Grant of up to £500,000, depending on certain conditions being met, to set up a new head office in Glasgow

·      Strong travel and leisure cluster established in Scotland

·      Planned creation of up to 52 jobs over the next 3 years

Minoan Group Plc, the AIM listed travel and leisure company, is pleased to announce that a contract has been signed with Scottish Enterprise in respect of a grant of up to £500,000 to assist the Company in setting up a new head office in Glasgow.

The grant, which is being provided by Scottish Enterprise via its Regional Selective Assistance, will enable Minoan to further support the national and international growth of its UK and foreign tourism business. It will be used to reimburse Minoan for certain capital expenditure and salary costs and will be payable by instalments once specific milestones have been met.

Minoan has now established its first travel and leisure cluster in Scotland, which has reached critical mass, through the completion of several acquisitions and trade agreements. The new head office will support Minoan's strategy of becoming an industry leading travel business through the creation of clusters of regional travel businesses. As previously stated, the aim is to create a substantial, profitable, distribution led travel business.

Christopher Egleton, Chairman of Minoan, commented:

"We are delighted that Scottish Enterprise has agreed to this grant and appreciate the support given.

We continue to progress in building a travel business of substance. Whilst the majority of our customers will be from the rest of the UK, Glasgow is a first class city to host our head office function. There is a strong labour pool, the city infrastructure lends itself to easy access to staff and communications for our senior team are excellent for the rest of the UK and around the world.

The costs of operation in Scotland are less than in many parts of the UK and we anticipate creating a substantial number of job opportunities over the next three years.

We are very excited about the continued growth potential in this sector whilst remaining fully committed to our project in Greece."

Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing said:

"This Government is working hard to increase sustainable economic growth across Scotland, and that is why I am delighted the Minoan Group has chosen to establish its headquarters in Glasgow.

This company has ambitious plans to expand within the UK and overseas tourism sectors and it's exciting that they are doing that from a Scottish base, showing that they have faith in the local workforce to help them achieve their aims.

This venture will provide a boost to the local economy by creating up to 52 new jobs.  It will also have a role in helping this Government meet its ambitious target to create sustainable economic growth for Scotland."

For further information visit www.minoangroup.com or contact:

Minoan Group Plc
Christopher Egleton	[e-mail]
Bill Cole	020 8253 4305
Seymour Pierce Limited	020 7107 8000
Nicola Marrin/David Foreman
Rivington Street Corporate Finance Limited	020 7562 3384
Dru Edmonstone
Jon Levinson
Bishopsgate Communications Limited	020 7562 3350
Nick Rome/Shabnam Bashir

 

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