Oyster Yachts, the struggling UK shipyard, has been bailed out of administration by gaming software entrepreneur Richard Hadida. Locals hope the investment, for which the amount was undisclosed, will see the majority of employee jobs saved.
The Southampton-based builder of luxury sailing yachts stopped operations last month in a collapse caused by a combination of low margins and poor cost control. This compounded with an insurance claim relating to the capsize of the Polina Star III in 2015.
KPMG was brought in as administrator during the bankruptcy of the shipyard to try to find a buyer for the business. Mr. Hadida move to rescue the company with many expecting to see as many as possible of the company’s 420 staff based in Hampshire and Norfolk re-employed.
"We are delighted to have a concluded a sale of the business, ensuring the recommencement of yacht production at the sites in Southampton and Wroxham, together with the opportunities for employment that this will bring." commented Neil Gostelow, partner at KPMG.
The failure of the company, which builds, services and charters sailing yachts came despite it having its largest-ever order book, thought to be about £10m higher than the £70m reported for 2016.
Annual accounts for the parent business Oyster Marine Holdings show that the company had revenues of £42m in 2016, and made a pre-tax profit of £104,000 according to the Telegraph.
Figures for 2015 show the business suffered a £5.2m hit from the sinking of the Polina Star III sailing yacht, which dragged it to a £7.4m loss for the year, leaving the company’s finances foundering.
Check our Timeline platform to get the full access to our analytics platform, that offers you a detailed report on the timeline of each superyacht, real time market view to see the yacht market developing and much more!