Saga's first purpose-built cruise ship takes to the seas

The Spirit of Discovery, which will sail with a maximum 999 guests and is the first of two planned cruise ships, floated out from the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg Germany on Sunday morning and will make its way to Dover to prepare for her maiden voyage on 10 July.

A second new ship, Spirit of Adventure, is due to be delivered in summer 2020 and each ship is expected to deliver approximately £40m EBITDA per annum.

Lance Batchelor, chief executive of Saga, said: "The float out of our new cruise ship, Spirit of Discovery, is a key event in our history and follows a rapid build process which was delivered on time and on budget. Combined with our second ship, which will launch next year, this will be transformational for the future profit trajectory of our travel business."

Meanwhile, the FTSE 250-traded company said it had also seen a positive reception for its new three-year fixed price insurance product, with around half of new direct customers choosing the product.

"In Insurance, the initial reception to our fixed price offering and renewed focus on rewarding customer loyalty has been pleasing and we look forward to the continued rollout of our new advertising campaign," said Batchelor.

Saga's shares were up 2.18% at 53.90p at 0912 BST.