Tony and Vicki Briggs sell down stake in Coral Princess.
Coral Princess Cruises founder and managing director Tony Briggs has just announced that Kallang Capital Holdings, a Singaporean based company, has made a “substantial equity investment” in the Australian small ship cruise line.
Briggs said the investment positions the business for future growth, with plans to add to the current range of “pioneering cruising itineraries covering the Great Barrier Reef, Western Australia’s Kimberley, the South Pacific and South East Asia”.
The investment will see several enhancements to the existing fleet of three vessels over the next year, commencing with a refurbishment of the 44-passenger Coral Princess II which will be completed by February 2015.
The existing Coral Princess management team, led by Mark Fifield, will remain in charge of the Cairns-based operation, and it is “very much business as usual” with all existing bookings, trade relationships and commitments to continue unchanged.
The investment is “part of a planned transition” by Briggs and his wife Vicki. Briggs remains a director of the company and they also retain a 10% shareholding in the business.
Kallang Capital Holdings is a holding company controlled by the founders of Singaporean financial services group Primepartners as well as Paul Chacko, and represents the interests of several Singaporean family offices, providing management support to “promising scaleable businesses in Singapore and across the region”.
More details in tomorrow’s issue of Cruise Weekly.