British luxury yacht manufacturer Fairline Yachts, based in Northamptonshire, has entered administration a few months after its acquisition by new investors. The insolvency proceedings were initiated by the company’s primary lender, DF Capital, which appointed Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) as administrators, who announced that Fairline Yachts will continue its activities as normal, with no immediate redundancies.
Following the takeover, more than 100 employees were made redundant. The collapse of Fairline Yachts is surprising because the company was sold only last December by private equity firm Hanover Investors to Arrowbolt Propulsion Systems, which was described in an announcement about the deal as a “clean propulsion technology company”. Further details of that deal were unclear, although the statement in December said that Arrowbolt was appointing Peter Hamlyn, an experienced industry executive, as Fairline Yachts’ new chief executive.
Michael Magnay, joint administrator to Fairline Yachts, said: “The business is continuing to trade as usual. We are thankful for the support and understanding of staff and there are no redundancies at this time. We are actively pursuing a sale of the business and are confident of a substantial amount of interest given the recognised brand and strong heritage. We encourage interested parties to make contact with us.”
Efforts are now directed towards finding a new buyer who can guarantee the future of this historic English brand, founded in 1963.
Fairline Yachts’ collapse comes nearly two years after rival Princess Yachts – UK yacht builder – was sold to investor KPS Capital Partners.
Last autumn, Sunseeker, another UK player in the sector, was sold to international investors Lionheart Capital and Orienta Capital Partners. This month BBC has announced that the company temporarily laid off nearly 100 workers before Christmas. The shipyard said “91 of its employees would continue to be laid off until 27 January”.