The legendary British boatbuilder, Fairline Yachts, has been bought by Bronzewood Capital
The new owner is a specialist in distressed businesses with turnovers ranging from £5 to £50 million. The head of Bronzewood Capital, David Julian Buchler, who is also the founding partner of the parent company, Buchler Phillips, is known to be a yachtsman and an experienced executive in marine industry. He has been a director-investor in Ventura Yachts, the distributor for Ferretti Group brands in the UK and Spain.
Earlier this year, Fairline, which is considered to be the epitome of British yachting heritage, was once again on the brink of bankruptcy. It went on working with a reduced staff, but was placed in receivership by its main creditor, DF Capital, while searching for a potential buyer. This step was taken to guarantee that all the vessels in build would be completed.
The new owners’ first steps were an increase in prices by 6% and a reduced margin for Fairline’s dealers as an attempt to restore the business profitability after years of losses.
Founded in 1963 under the name of Fairline Boats, the shipyard has been in difficult financial situations many times, but so far has managed to stay afloat. The hardest blow was the financial crisis of 2008, followed by a few years of desperate attempts to fix the situation. In 2015 the yard was relaunched under the name of Fairline Yachts by a Russian dealer. In 2022 the business was acquired by Hanover Investors, and at the end of 2024 the shipyard was taken over by Arrowbolt Propulsion Systems, which sold it after just several months of ownership.
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