Company Announcements

14 May 2019

Saga plc

("Saga" or "the Group")

Spirit of Discovery sea trials and fixed price insurance advertising launch

Saga plc ("Saga" or "the Group"), the UK's specialist in products and services for life after 50, today updates on two key developments from both its Travel and Insurance divisions.

Spirit of Discovery sea trials

Following its rapid build over the past year, Saga's first ever purpose-built cruise ship, Spirit of Discovery, floated out from the Building Hall at Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg Germany on Sunday morning.  She will undergo further trials in readiness for going to sea in early June.

Spirit of Discovery will sail with a maximum 999 guests and 523 crew around the world, British registered and proudly flying the Red Ensign. She will arrive in Dover on 28 June and will be officially named on 5 July, undertaking her maiden voyage on 10 July.

Spirit of Discovery is the first of two new ships being built to increase Saga's capacity in Cruise. The second new ship, Spirit of Adventure, is due to be delivered in summer 2020.  Each ship is expected to deliver c.£40m EBITDA per annum.

Launch of advertising campaign for three-year fixed price insurance

While our new three-year fixed price insurance product has only been on offer for five weeks, we have seen a positive reception with around half of our direct new business customers choosing the new offering. To build awareness of this new product, we have launched an advertising campaign centred on the theme of 'time shouldn't change a thing'.

The fixed price offer is part of Saga's new Insurance approach which is focused on growing direct channels and rewarding customer loyalty.

Lance Batchelor, Group Chief Executive Officer, said:

" We have seen two key milestones for the Saga business over the last few days.

" 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.

"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." 

END

Saga plc

Mark Watkins, Director of Investor Relations                      Tel: 07738 777 479

                                                                                               Email: mark.watkins@saga.co.uk

MHP Communications

Tim Rowntree/Simon Hockridge                                         Tel: 020 3128 8742

            Email: saga@mhpc.com 

Notes to editors

Please refer to the links below to view the advertising campaign for our three-year fixed price insurance product and the float out of our first new cruise ship, Spirit of Discovery:

Motor insurance - https://youtu.be/pWcCb_RH7oc

Home insurance - https://youtu.be/k92azagGztA

Float out of Spirit of Discovery - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5Yo5jetsgg&feature=youtu.be

Saga is a specialist in the provision of products and services for people aged 50 and over. The Saga brand is one of the most recognised and trusted brands in the UK and is known for its high level of customer service and its high quality, award winning products and services including cruises and holidays, insurance, personal finance and publishing. www.saga.co.uk