Loan Advance to Libra Holiday

RNS Number:9473H
Excel Airways Group PLC
25 February 2003


For Immediate Release                                      25 February 2003





                         Excel Airways Group plc



              Loan Advance to Libra Holidays Group Limited



Excel Airways Group plc ("EAG" or "Company") announces that its subsidiary,
Excel Aviation Limited ("EAL" or "the Company") has today entered into a loan
facility agreement with EAG's majority shareholder Libra Holidays Group Limited
("LHG") (which currently holds 81.7 per cent of the issued ordinary share
capital of the Company) whereby EAL has agreed to lend LHG the principal sum of
#2,000,000 ("the Loan").  The Loan is repayable in full by no later than 29
October 2003 together with interest calculated at the daily rate of 1.5 per cent
above the Barclays Bank base rate (from time to time).  As security for the
Loan, LHG will deposit the certificates for 10,000,000 EAG ordinary shares with
EAL to be held until such time as the Loan (including any outstanding interest)
is repaid in full.



The Directors of EAG (with the exception of Eamonn Mullaney, Andreas Drakou and
Christos Mavrellis who are directors of LHG and, under the terms of the AIM
Rules, are considered related parties for the purposes of this transaction)
consider, having consulted with Brewin Dolphin Securities (the Nominated Advisor
to EAG) that the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as the
Company's shareholders are concerned.



Phil Wyatt, Chief Executive, commenting on the transaction said:



"Libra Holidays Group is an important customer of EAL. As we wish to support an
aggressive marketing campaign for earlier bookings, this loan will help support
the substantial marketing expense required.



"The rate of return on the loan to Libra Holidays Group is significantly greater
than is commercially available on the Company's cash reserves, which at the end
of the last financial year amounted to  approximately #20.4 million.



"Our security of 10 million EAG ordinary shares equates to over 6.5 times the
value of the loan at today's mid-market share price."



For further information:


       Eamonn Mullaney, Chairman
       Phil Wyatt, Chief Executive
       Excel Airways Group                                        01293 428749

       Richard Darby, Suzanne Dunne
       Buchanan Communications                                    020 7466 5000




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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