TRAVEL Group Minoan has received an offer for its Scottish business, which includes Stewart Travel and Morningside Travel.

Minoan, which recently was given final permission to begin work on its perennially delayed luxury resort on Crete, said it was “aiming to concentrate its efforts on optimising the value” of this development.

The group said it was in negotiations over the sale, and if terms can be agreed, proceeds will be used to repay the debt owed to Jersey-based Hillside International Holdings.

Minoan, run by former Direct Holidays chief executive Duncan Wilson, said this would leave the group debt free.

In a statement to the stock exchange, the group said there had been a “firm and credible approach received for the sale of the travel & leisure division which may or may not result in the sale of that division”.

The news came as Minoan unveiled plans to raise £1.3m in funding for working capital.

Shares were down 15 per cent in early trading with a deeply discounted subscription offer to raise £300,000 based on 6p per share.

This represents a 21 per cent discount on Friday’s mid-market price of 7.6p.

The group plans to raise a further £1 million through a broker offer being made through an accelerated book build process.