Hill Dickinson advises on the sale of City Cruises to Hornblower

Hill Dickinson’s London corporate team has advised the shareholders of the UK’s biggest tour boat operator, City Cruises, on its sale to Hornblower Cruises and Events.

Over the last 30 years, City Cruises has expanded widely to become the UK’s largest tour boat company, operating on the River Thames, City Cruises York, City Cruises Poole, ThamesJet and R.S. Hispaniola, carrying three million guests each year across 20 vessels.

The deal marks the fourth major investment in a year for Hornblower Cruises and Events, a division of San Francisco-based Hornblower Group, and represents the company’s expansion into the highly desirable UK market. Hornblower Group is the largest river and harbour cruising company in the US and runs popular dining cruises, overnight cruises, whale watching trips and ferries throughout North America, including trips to Alcatraz in San Francisco, the Statue of Liberty in New York and Niagara Falls in Canada.

Mark Wheeler, legal director in Hill Dickinson’s corporate commercial team, led on the deal, with assistance from associate Amy Grosvenor and paralegal Amelia Chung. Georgia Doyle, in the property team, and Laura Marginson, in the employment team, also advised.

The London-based corporate team advised the shareholders of City Cruises which included the chairman and chief executive of City Cruises, Gary and Rita Beckwith, who founded City Cruises in 1985. Gary and Rita will stay on as consultants for several months to assist with the transition. 

The Hill Dickinson team worked closely with WMT LLP, headed by Andrew Williamson, who acted as financial advisers. 

Rita Beckwith, former chief executive of City Cruises, said: 
‘We are delighted to have closed on a deal which provides a great future for City Cruises’ team and customers. I would like to thank Mark Wheeler and the entire Hill Dickinson team. Both Hill Dickinson and WMT provided an excellent service together which went above and beyond to help us deliver this deal. Mark was superb throughout and provided a calm head despite the obstacles that naturally arose. Gary and I look forward to working with Hornblower over the coming months to help transition City Cruises into its future voyages.’

Terry MacRae, chief executive of Hornblower, commented: 
‘We are incredibly excited to acquire City Cruises, which we believe to be the best leisure cruise operator in Europe today. We have long had the ambition to enter the European market and it makes perfect sense to start our journey in one of the most iconic cities in the world.’

With the completion of this acquisition, Hornblower now operates a fleet of over 150 vessels offering dining cruises, overnight cruises, sightseeing, private charter, water taxi and ferry brands in the US, Canada, and now the UK.

Mark Wheeler, legal director at Hill Dickinson noted: 
‘It was a pleasure to work with the shareholders of City Cruises to deliver a deal that represents good value for all the parties. City Cruises has a long standing trading history and our teams across the London office worked with those at City Cruises to ensure the transaction was delivered in a smooth fashion.’

About Hornblower Cruises and Events
Hornblower Cruises and Events is based in Chicago and employs around 4300 shipmates, who operate a fleet of 150 vessels serving upwards of 9.8 million guests each year. The company is North America’s largest and leading provider of water-based dining, sightseeing, private charter and transportation experiences, serving 22 coveted destinations in America, Canada and the UK, including Alexandria, Baltimore, Berkley, Boston, Chicago, Long Beach, Marina Del Rey, Norfolk, Philadelphia, National Harbor, New Jersey, New York, Newport Beach, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington D.C., as well as Gananoque, and Toronto in Canada, and now London, York and Poole. More information on the website.

About Hornblower Group
Headquartered in San Francisco, Hornblower Group operates the official ferry boat service to Alcatraz Island, the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island Memorial Museum on behalf of the National Park Service as well as Hornblower Cruises and Events, NYC Ferry, American Queen Steamboat Company, Hornblower Niagara Cruises, Victory Cruises Lines, and HMS Global Maritime. The expansive portfolio reflects almost a century of sector expertise and innovation from pioneering the earliest river sightseeing tours and dining cruises to developing the revolutionary Hornblower Hybrid, a vessel powered by wind, solar and battery electricity. More information here.
 

Pictured below, from left to right are: Mark Wheeler, Legal Director; Georgia Doyle, Associate; Amelia Chung, Paralegal and Laura Marginson, Associate - all Hill Dickinson