Minoan buys Scots travel agency and raises £450k

Travel group Minoan has bought an Edinburghbased agency and also raised £450,000 to help develop its resort project in Crete.

The Glasgow-based company’s Stewart Travel arm has acquired Morningside Travel for £135,000, mostly being paid for through the issue of new shares. Minoan said the Edinburgh business had “built up a reputation for excellent customer service and is an ideal fit for Stewart Travel”.

The separate fundraising the company also announced yesterday is via a placing of just over five million shares at 9p with institutional and other investors. The placing price was at discount of around 6.5 per cent to last Friday’s share price.

The company is planning a luxury travel and leisure investment project on Crete and is awaiting a final decisionbygreeksupreme Court in order to go ahead.

In addition to providing general working capital to support the Crete project, the company said the funds raised could be used to help fund further acquisitions.