Legendary British Fairline Yachts shipyard has been placed in receivership by its main creditor, DF Capital, while administrators are examining possible options for the company's future
It happened just a couple of months after early in December 2024 Fairline Yachts was taken over by Arrowbolt Propulsion Systems company, which currently owns at least 75% of the yard’s shares.
At present the future of Fairline Yachts, which many consider to be the embodiment of the British yacht building heritage, is uncertain. However, despite the challenging situation, the yard keeps working and seeking actively a sale to a new owner, hoping that the brand’s status will generate considerable interest.
Fairline Yachts was founded in 1963. Throughout its history, it has experienced financial difficulties more than once, remaining, however, one of the benchmark luxury motor yacht brands. The latest crisis led to the situation when in an attempt to cut costs the yard had to lay off about 100 employees at the end of December 2024. The 2023 accounts showed sales of £41.1 million, which is 15% lower than £48.3 million in 2022.
Fairline’s order book is estimated at £100 million, which allows one to make rather optimistic forecasts for 2025. Nevertheless, the search for a buyer is now crucial to the shipyard’s survival.
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