The board of All Leisure group plc (AIM:ALLG) (“the Group”) announces that it has successfully tendered in an auction, conducted by the Admiralty Marshal, for the mv. “Alexander von Humboldt”. The vessel, which has a gross tonnage of 15,271 tonnes, came into service in 1990 and has up to 500 lower berths. The vessel has 250 passenger cabins, 90% of which are outside cabins. The Group intends to undertake an extensive technical upgrade programme on the ship, bringing the total investment in the vessel to approximately $20 million. This will be met from the Group’s existing cash resources.

The newest addition to the fleet will be available for Group passengers from summer 2011 and will join Voyages of Discovery’s mv. Discovery (708 lower berths), Swan Hellenic’s mv. Minerva (394 lower berths) and Hebridean Island Cruises’ mv. Hebridean Princess (49 lower berths) in the All Leisure fleet, making the Group one of the largest British-owned cruise ships operators.  The directors of the Group anticipate the acquisition to be earnings enhancing in financial year 2010/11.
 
Executive Chairman Roger Allard commented:
 
“We have been particularly patient and prudent in deploying our cash resources in order to meet with our strict investment criteria, but I believe that the wait has been worthwhile. Our latest acquisition fits perfectly with both the profile of our fleet and our destination-led product offering, especially given the high numbers of outside cabins. Most importantly, we believe that this asset has been acquired at a cost that is highly commercial. This acquisition underpins the confidence that we have in the potential of our destination-led small ship niche cruise offering.”
 
For further information:
Roger Allard (Executive Chairman) •All Leisure group plc• Tel: +44 1444 462 103
Adam Pollock, Andrew Godber • Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited • Tel: + 44 207 459 3600
Ginny Pulbrook, Citigate Dewe Rogerson• Tel: +44 207 282 2945