Condor Ferries ferries

Condor Ferries

Condor Ferries was founded in 1964 by two Channel Islands businessmen, Peter Dorey and Jack Norman, who started with a passenger service between Saint-Malo, Jersey and Guernsey. It has been the lifeline of the islands ever since, carrying visitors but also the food, vehicles and supplies that the islands cannot produce themselves.

The company has changed hands several times. The investment group Macquarie bought it in 2008, and in 2019 an agreement was reached for it to pass to a consortium led by the Columbia Threadneedle European Sustainable Infrastructure Fund, with Brittany Ferries as a minority shareholder; the sale was completed in 2020. In September 2024 Brittany Ferries raised its stake to 51% and took operational control, with Columbia Threadneedle keeping a minority holding, and the Channel Islands services have since been moving under the Brittany Ferries name.

The company has carried around a million passengers, about 200,000 passenger vehicles and well over 900,000 lane metres of freight a year between Guernsey, Jersey, the UK and Saint-Malo. Its fleet combines fast catamarans, such as Condor Liberation, with conventional ships and freight vessels, so crossing times and comfort depend a good deal on the vessel and the route chosen.