Richard Branson is being sued for £200million following the collapse of a joint venture with former Norwegian Cruises CEO Colin Veitch . Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Group is being sued for £200million ( $ 300million ) by the former chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd over plans by the British billionaire to launch his own luxury cruise line . The lawsuit has been filed by Colin Veitch in Miami Federal Court , and claims that Virgin muscled him out of a joint venture to break into the industry with massive ships capable of carrying 4,200 passengers each and operating as floating resorts . Veitch alleges he presented a plan to Virgin in 2011 to launch a new cruise line focused on two 'ultra ships ' that would give it a foothold in the hard-to-enter but highly profitable luxury cruise industry , according to the complaint . Sir Richard 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 , ' Virgin Group said in an emailed statement on Wednesday . '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 in December announced the formation of Virgin Cruises , which intends to sail out of Miami . It 's one of the newest of Sir Richard 's numerous business ventures , which include airlines , the Virgin Galactic spacecraft , a music label , book publishing , a travel agency , hotels and mobile phone services . As CEO of the new Virgin Cruises Branson hired Tom McAlpine , former president of the Disney Cruise Line , a unit of Walt Disney Co . According to the lawsuit , the plan was initially brought to Virgin by Veitch , who after analysing the cruise industry concluded that a well-known brand such as Virgin could break into the business profitably by building a pair of so-called 'ultra ' ships . These vessels , such as Royal Caribbean International 's 'Oasis of the Seas ' ship , feature a wide array of on-board attractions and command premium prices . Richard Branson announced in December his intention to form Virgin Cruises , that sail out of Miami , US ( File Photo ) The May 2011 agreement between Virgin and Veitch estimated that Virgin could make between $ 427 million and $ 483 million in profits over 10 years if the venture performed as planned . Under this deal , Veitch would get nothing if the ships were not profitable but stood to make $ 315 million if his projections were met . 'Upon recognizing the potential for Virgin Cruises to be one of Virgin 's 'biggest , sexiest businesses , ' however , the dark side of Virgin quickly emerged , ' the filing says , citing language used by Branson in a video shot in 2012 . Veitch claimed that Virgin later began altering the deal to diminish his earnings and leave him as 'an indentured servant whose ownership and rewards depended completely upon Virgin 's whims . '
Lawsuit has been filed by former Norwegian Cruises boss Richard Branson . He alleges that after presenting cruise plans , he was 'muscled out ' Virgin say they 'strongly believe the claim has no merits '