One of Britain’s biggest luxury boat manufacturers has collapsed into administration less than two months after it was sold to new investors.
Sky News has learnt that Fairline Yachts, which is based in Oundle, Northamptonshire, had fallen into insolvency proceedings after DF Capital, the company’s main lender, triggered the appointment of Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) as administrators.
One staff member said they had been briefed on the news by A&M on Monday morning.
Fairline Yachts is understood to employ about 250 people, with no redundancies being triggered by the insolvency.
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The collapse of Fairline Yachts is surprising because the company was only sold early last month by 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.
In a statement provided in response to an enquiry from Sky News, Michael Magnay, joint administrator to Fairline Yachts Limited, 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.”
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Fairline Yachts’ collapse comes nearly two years after rival Princess Yachts was sold to investor KPS Capital Partners.
Last autumn, Sunseeker, another big player in the sector, was sold to international investors Lionheart Capital and Orienta Capital Partners.