Condor Ferries
Condor Ferries was a ferry company of passenger and freight services based in Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Founded in 1964, it operated a variety of services between the United Kingdom, Guernsey, Jersey and France.
Condor Ferries had several owners during its operational history before being taken over by Brittany Ferries in 2025.
History
Condor Ferries was formed in 1964 by Channel Island businessmen Peter Dorey and Jack Norman. Condor was two thirds owned by Onesimus Dorey & Sons, led by Dorey, with the remaining third largely held by Jack Norman of Commodore Shipping, linking the two companies. The company originally operated services only between the Channel Islands and St Malo. In a 2014 interview with the Guernsey Press, Dorey's son, Rupert recalled "it was a ballsy, risky thing to do to start the business in the first place in 1964, with no guarantees of success. It was very innovative at the time but it wasn't even clear whether the local waters would suit the hydrofoil boat, and there were problems to overcome. It made losses for two or three years but then they rolled the dice, decided to double up the service and buy another boat, it was one huge risk but it paid off."The initial series of Condor vessels were all hydrofoil passenger ferries, with the exception of Condor 6 which was a passenger only catamaran.
Peter Dorey was lost at sea in a sailing accident whilst competing in the 1979 Fastnet Race, with his interest passing to his wife, Tattie. Four years later, in 1983, Commodore Shipping acquired all remaining shares in Condor which it did not own, with David Norman being appointed managing director. In 1992 Australian logistics and transport company, TNT, acquired a 50% shareholding in Condor Ferries.
Expansion
Condor Ferries established the first high-speed car ferry service to the Channel Islands from Weymouth in 1993 using the 74m Incat catamaran Condor 10. In the winter of 1993/1994, one of Condor's parent companies, Commodore Shipping, took over British Channel Island Ferries which operated conventional ferry services to the Channel Islands from Poole. Upon the BCIF takeover, Condor moved all passenger services to Weymouth and the BCIF freight service was transferred to Commodore Shipping. The BCIF vessel Havelet ran a conventional ferry service from Weymouth from 1994 alongside the Condor 10.TNT's 50% share in Condor was spun-off just two years after their purchase with the rest of TNT's Shipping and Development Division and floated on the Australian Securities Exchange. to become part of Holyman.
New UK bases, purchase of the ''Havelet'' and ''Condor Vitesse''
In March 1997, Condor moved its UK port to Poole. The Condor Express suffered technical problems that led to late-running services. As a result, the Channel Island governments put the licence to operate ferry services to the UK out to tender. P&O European Ferries and Hoverspeed submitted bids to run the service but ultimately Condor retained the licence but was forced to purchase the Havelet to act as an all-weather back-up until the delivery of a new conventional vessel in 1999. It also purchased the Condor Vitesse for a new service to St Malo via Guernsey and made Weymouth its primary UK port, though retaining summer sailings from Poole.In 1998, Holyman's 50% stake in Condor was sold back to Commodore Shipping, giving them, once again, full ownership of Condor Ferries.
Re-introduction of ''Condor 10'', management buy-out, rebranding and sale
Condor 10 returned to the fleet in March 2002 to replace the Condor 9 on the St Malo – Channel Island service and to fully compete with the existing fast car ferry service of Emeraude Lines. Later that year, the Commodore Group, which included Condor Ferries, Commodore Ferries and Commodore Express, was sold to a management buy-out team for a reported £150 million. The deal was backed by ABN AMRO. Shortly after, the Condor Ferries logo was redesigned for the start of the 2003 season using the same font as the logo Brittany Ferries had adopted in 2002. In 2004, the group was rebranded with Commodore Ferries coming under the Condor Ferries name and Commodore Express becoming Condor Logistics. The group was sold once again in 2004 to the Royal Bank of Scotland's venture capital arm for £240 million.Acquisition by the Macquarie Group
In 2008, the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund II acquired the Condor Group.Closure of Condor Logistics
It was announced on 4 October 2012 that Condor Logistics would close its operations with the loss of about 180 jobs. The move was blamed on changes to low-value consignment relief affecting the Channel Islands.Purchase and introduction of ''Condor Liberation''
In 2012, Condor Ferries extended its agreement to run Channel Island services until 2018. Shortly afterwards, Condor began to seek a suitable replacement for both Condor Express and Condor Vitesse. It was then announced that both vessels were to be sold and replaced by the much larger Condor Liberation, then known as Condor 102. After being modified at Austal's Philippines yard, it entered service with Condor Ferries on 27 March 2015 operating out of Poole on the Dorset coast.However, due to the size of Condor Liberation, ferry services to Weymouth ended as the vessel was deemed 'too big' to dock into the town's small port.
Brittany Ferries partnership
In 2001, Condor started operating a Poole – Cherbourg fastcraft service on behalf of Brittany Ferries using the Condor Vitesse which sported a joint livery. The service ran between mid-May and late October, leaving Poole at 07:30 and arriving back from Cherbourg at 12:45. Condor Vitesse then operated the Condor service to St Malo arriving back in Poole by midnight.In August 2005, Condor Express briefly ran on the Poole – Cherbourg service. The Condor Express had been experiencing technical problems and so the Condor Vitesse was transferred to the more taxing Channel Islands service. Condor Express also operated the Poole-Cherbourg route in 2008.
Between 2022 and 2023, Condor operated fast-ferry services between Poole, Portsmouth and Cherbourg using the Condor Liberation during summer months.
Sale and purchase
In June 2019, the UK-based financial website This is Money, reported that Macquarie Group was looking to wind down Condor's then owner, the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 2. Rumors had surfaced for a few years beforehand when Deputy Peter Febrache, formerly the President of Guernsey's Committee for Economic Development, said in a Scrutiny hearing that the company was on the market.It was announced on 14 November 2019 that the European Sustainable Infrastructure Fund managed by Columbia Threadneedle Investments had purchased Condor, forming a consortium with Brittany Ferries, who also bought a minority stake in the company.
Joint purchase of ''Condor Islander'' with the States of Guernsey
In September 2022, it was revealed that plans developed by the States of Guernsey to directly purchase another conventional vessel for Condor Ferries earlier in the year were called off. Instead, an investment board began to look into whether or not a vessel could be owned by an investment fund.In April 2023, the States of Guernsey loaned Condor Ferries £26 million in a joint venture to purchase the Straitsman, which was operating across the Cook Strait at the time. Renamed Condor Islander, the purchase of the vessel to operate between Portsmouth and the Channel Islands was deemed "essential" by the Civil Contingencies Authority of Guernsey.
The purchase of the Condor Islander was questioned by Deputy Gavin St Pier to Deputy Peter Febrache after a Guernsey Press interview with Condor CEO John Napton revealed that Condor had other funding options for the ship, with Napton also detailing his confusion to why the States had invoked emergency powers to complete the deal, and why the States were keen on helping to buy a ferry after discussing his desire to improve resilience in the Condor fleet. Deputy Febrache revealed that he "thought the decision of the States to allow Condor to reduce its fleet from five vessels to four was a mistake" and "had the States of Guernsey not become involved in the funding, the vessel would not have been secured" due to time constraints.
Condor Islander's entry to service in October 2023 was marred by weather disruption caused by Storm Babet and technical difficulties not long after.
Financial issues, ferry tender and Brittany Ferries' take-over
In December 2023, Condor Ferries announced it was facing financial issues and would increase freight charges by nearly 19% from January 2024. The States of Guernsey and the Government of Jersey began forming contingency plans, which included the trial of DFDS Seaways' Finlandia Seaways in both islands.In March 2024, Christophe Mathieu, CEO of Brittany Ferries, who had recently become CEO of Condor Ferries, announced that Brittany Ferries had loaned Condor £10 million to cover unpaid port fees, and that he believed the low usage of Condor Islander had led to the financial issues experienced by the company.
A joint ferry tender process between Guernsey and Jersey began on 14 May 2024. Applicants included Condor Ferries, DFDS, and Irish Ferries. In June 2024, it was revealed that Stena Line had also applied, but chose to withdraw from the process.
In August 2024, it was announced that Brittany Ferries was set to become the majority owner of Condor Ferries, pending the approval of regulators in Guernsey and Jersey. The proposed deal would see Brittany increase their stake from 29% to 51% with Columbia Threadneedle European Sustainable Infrastructure Fund retaining a minority shareholding.
After many months, both islands could not reach a shared agreement. On 31 October 2024, Guernsey chose to appoint Brittany Ferries as its preferred company to operate a 15-year service contract. Jersey announced on 3 December 2024 that it had selected DFDS as its preferred operator for the next 15 years from spring 2025, ending Condor's 60 years of lifeline operations in Jersey.
On 28 March 2025, the Guernsey-only operation was taken over by Brittany Ferries, marking the end of the 60-year history of the Condor Ferries brand.