Richard Branson's Virgin Group sued by former partner who claims the company 'stole his plans' for cruise line

Colin Veitch claims he could have earned up to $314 million from the deal if it had been honoured and the company had succeeded

Virgin Cruises, the yet-to-be-inaugurated ocean-going cruise ship company unveiled last December, has sailed into early choppy waters as a former CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line sued owner Richard Branson and his Virgin Group for allegedly stealing his ideas and business plans.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of Colin Veitch in federal court in Miami, Florida, alleged that Virgin had entered into an agreement with him in 2011 on the building of the new cruise line, which will debut with two state-of-the-art luxury ships, but then tore up the agreement and moved forward under different terms. Mr Veitch led Norwegian from 2000 to 2008.

Mr Veitch, who claims he could have earned up to $314 million from the original deal if it had been honoured and if the company succeeded, is asking for $300 million in damages from Mr Branson and Virgin Group, his lawyers told the Associated Press. The suit also demands that the development of the cruise line, which is meant to offer sailings out of Miami, be put on hold.

By abrogating the original agreement and moving forward with the plan anyway on the basis of the ideas Mr Veitch gave, Virgin is guilty of theft, the suit argues. Under the new terms offered by Virgin, it adds, he would essentially become an employee with a profit share that would be determined by Virgin alone.

In a statement, Virgin said: “Richard Branson and the Virgin Group first looked at the cruise market in the late 1970s, and our current team has been exploring the opportunity for more than a decade. Over the years, we have been in discussions with a number of parties including the plaintiff, and those discussions ceased in 2012. We strongly believe the claim has no merits.”

Virgin is banking on the strength of its brand and global name recognition to be able to break into the cruise industry at the luxury end with two so-called ‘ultra’ ships capable of carrying around 4,500 passengers each. Two such ships are already in service with Royal Caribbean. The first, with a distinctive open aft and tree-lined promenade, was ‘Oasis of the Seas’.

The suit was filed just three days before Mr Branson is due in Miami to witness the Virgin car racing team compete in an all-electric Formula ePrix championship.