more efficiently, and eliminate discounts
on boat sales. “We have to protect the
margin,” Hadida says. “It’s the most
fundamental thing.”
To help with that, he hired Becky
Bridgen, a former mergers-and-
acquisitions consultant, as Oyster’s chief
financial officer—and woman on the
ground. “I initially came to give Richard
a few hours of advice on how to acquire
Oyster from the administrators,” Bridgen
says, “and here I am still, one year on.”
While Hadida was busy getting his life
to a place where he could step over to
Oyster and do his thing, Bridgen was the
one to open up the shipyard’s gates and
get business rolling again.
First on the list was to make good on
the orders that were already contracted
or in build. “It is a fantastic brand that
built amazing yachts, but we were
starting out all over again,” Bridgen says.
“We started with no staff but were faced
with a number of owners with part-
built yachts that we needed to help get
completed. Our first yacht handover was
four months later.” Just five months after
taking over, the company had already
signed contracts to build new yachts.
Hadida estimates that Oyster finished
12 boats while simultaneously updating
the yard with state-of-the-art systems
and processes.The Business172 OCTOBER 2019
long-term goal or even a pipe dream. In
2006 he started Evolution Gaming, a top
casino gaming-software business, which
employs more than 5,000 worldwide
and has a $3.2 billion market cap on the
Swedish Stock Exchange. But his love for
sailing and the 46-year-old British sailing
marque motivated him to embark on the
unexpected challenge when, in February
2018, just a few weeks after Oyster
Yachts booked its biggest order ever,
the yard suddenly shut its doors amid
the celebration, shocking not only the
sailing community but also its nearly 400
employees. “All I can gauge is that they
didn’t sell the boats for the right margin.
Simple as that,” says Hadida.
These days, as the sole owner of
the yacht company, he has stepped
away from his tech business and is fully
focused on the yard. “It’s not something
you can do part time,” he says. “But I also
love it here.” The 54-year-old British
businessman fell in love with yachting
when he chartered a boat for his sister’s
wedding in the Greek islands—he wanted
to impress his then girlfriend, now wife,
Jenny. They sailed from Athens to the
wedding through a storm. When they
spotted the island on the horizon after
the storm broke, he thought, “‘Oh, my
God. We did it.’ It was a very important
moment for me,” he says. “That’s when INext, he streamlined the number of
models Oyster will offer and build. He
took it down to six, ranging from 56 feet
to 123 feet in size and priced from $1.76
million to $25 million, depending on
size, fit and finish. “And out of those six,
three of them are absolutely brand-new,”
Hadida says. “We’re just producing the
first ones. These are the first 565s coming
out. They’re all brand-new-designed
boats, first of class.”
“We have clear milestones for
delivery of results, both financial and
production-wise,” Bridgen says. “We are
on track at the end of year one, and the
number of new yachts to deliver in thecurrent year is on target, with the 565
being very well received at its recent
launch. It’s the first of the new Oysters
in the 50-foot range, our new Pocket
Superyacht. Sales of this yacht and our
larger 675 and 745 will see us return to
profit in 2020.” At press time, Oyster was
preparing to launch its new flagship, the
123-foot Oyster 1225.
Owning a shipyard wasn’t Hadida’s“BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR,
WE’LL BE WELL INTO THE
LAND OF PROFITABILITY.”Oyster Regatta, Antigua
BRIAN CARLING2G_Oct_BIZ_OysterYachts.indd 172 8/30/19 3:54 PMmoreefficiently,andeliminatediscounts
onboatsales.“Wehavetoprotectthe
margin,”Hadidasays.“It’sthemost
fundamentalthing.”
Tohelpwiththat,hehiredBecky
Bridgen,aformermergers-and-
acquisitionsconsultant,asOyster’schief
financialofficer—andwomanonthe
ground.“IinitiallycametogiveRichard
afewhoursofadviceonhowtoacquire
Oysterfromtheadministrators,”Bridgen
says,“andhereIamstill,oneyearon.”
WhileHadidawasbusygettinghislife
toaplacewherehecouldstepoverto
Oysteranddohisthing,Bridgenwasthe
onetoopenuptheshipyard’sgatesand
getbusinessrollingagain.
Firstonthelistwastomakegoodon
theordersthatwerealreadycontracted
orinbuild.“Itisafantasticbrandthat
builtamazingyachts,butwewere
startingoutalloveragain,”Bridgensays.
“Westartedwithnostaffbutwerefaced
withanumberofownerswithpart-
builtyachtsthatweneededtohelpget
completed.Ourfirstyachthandoverwas
fourmonthslater.”Justfivemonthsafter
takingover,thecompanyhadalready
signedcontractstobuildnewyachts.
HadidaestimatesthatOysterfinished
12 boatswhilesimultaneouslyupdating
theyardwithstate-of-the-artsystems
andprocesses.The Business172 OCTOBER 2019
long-term goal or even a pipe dream. In
2006 he started Evolution Gaming, a top
casino gaming-software business, which
employs more than 5,000 worldwide
and has a $3.2 billion market cap on the
Swedish Stock Exchange. But his love for
sailing and the 46-year-old British sailing
marque motivated him to embark on the
unexpected challenge when, in February
2018, just a few weeks after Oyster
Yachts booked its biggest order ever,
the yard suddenly shut its doors amid
the celebration, shocking not only the
sailing community but also its nearly 400
employees. “All I can gauge is that they
didn’t sell the boats for the right margin.
Simple as that,” says Hadida.
These days, as the sole owner of
the yacht company, he has stepped
away from his tech business and is fully
focused on the yard. “It’s not something
you can do part time,” he says. “But I also
love it here.” The 54-year-old British
businessman fell in love with yachting
when he chartered a boat for his sister’s
wedding in the Greek islands—he wanted
to impress his then girlfriend, now wife,
Jenny. They sailed from Athens to the
wedding through a storm. When they
spotted the island on the horizon after
the storm broke, he thought, “‘Oh, my
God. We did it.’ It was a very important
moment for me,” he says. “That’s when INext, he streamlined the number of
models Oyster will offer and build. He
took it down to six, ranging from 56 feet
to 123 feet in size and priced from $1.76
million to $25 million, depending on
size, fit and finish. “And out of those six,
three of them are absolutely brand-new,”
Hadida says. “We’re just producing the
first ones. These are the first 565s coming
out. They’re all brand-new-designed
boats, first of class.”
“We have clear milestones for
delivery of results, both financial and
production-wise,” Bridgen says. “We are
on track at the end of year one, and the
number of new yachts to deliver in thecurrent year is on target, with the 565
being very well received at its recent
launch. It’s the first of the new Oysters
in the 50-foot range, our new Pocket
Superyacht. Sales of this yacht and our
larger 675 and 745 will see us return to
profit in 2020.” At press time, Oyster was
preparing to launch its new flagship, the
123-foot Oyster 1225.
Owning a shipyard wasn’t Hadida’s“BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR,
WE’LL BE WELL INTO THE
LAND OF PROFITABILITY.”Oyster Regatta, Antigua
BRIAN CARLIN