Edited by
Chris Jefferies
The key boating stories you need to read Email: [email protected]LATESTNEWS
Med twist for
London show
Boating extravaganza adds new zones and themes
The London Boat Show is hoping to blow
away the winter blues with a 1960s
revival theme and a sunny Mediterranean-
style boating pool.
The organisers will
be harking back to
the era of miniskirts
and the Beatles with
a dedicated display
featuring classic
boats, motorbikes and
cars from the 1960s.
Visitors will also be
able get a taste of sunnier
climes with the new
Mediterranean Bay exhibit (pictured
above right). This purpose-built pool will
hold 500,000 litres of water, giving
visitors the opportunity to try a variety of
watersports, from water walking to
kayaking, and learn how to moor a boat
in a Mediterranean-style stern-to berth.
Meanwhile, the new London Boat
Show Theatre will stage panel shows and
Q&A sessions, which the organisers say
will resemble “a mash-up of A Question
of Sport, Mock the Week and Mastermind”.
It’s not all indoors either, as theorganisers have confirmed that they
will be exhibiting a number of larger
vessels in Victoria Dock, including
the hotly anticipated Sunseeker
131 superyacht.
The main Sunseeker stand
will be shifted
from the centre of the
Excel Centre’s South Hall to
run horizontally along the
perimeter of the hall.
Other motor boat brands exhibiting
at the Excel arena include Princess,
Sealine, Jeanneau, and Bénéteau.
Returning brands include Monterey
Boats, Rodman, Four Winns and Suzuki
outboards in its first London Boat Show
appearance since 2011.
At the time of going to press Fairline’s
attendance was yet to be confirmed.
Around 160 firms are already signed
up to exhibit, but the organisers expect
the final total to be nearer 300.
The 2016 London Boat Show will run
from January 8-17 at the Excel Centre.
Advance tickets are on sale now with
prices starting at £10 per adult, while
kids aged 15 and under go free.Fairline fights
for a fresh start
Boatbuilder calls in turnaround specialist to restructure the business
Fairline has appointed a turnaround
specialist to try to revive the yard’s
ailing fortunes, following its surprise
acquisition by British investment firm
Wessex Bristol back in October.
The KSA Group is proposing
Fairline enters into a Company
Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) with
its creditors in order to restructure
its debts and return the yard to
profitability. Although Fairline is
not thought to have any major
outstanding bank debts, it doesowe significant sums of money
to many of its suppliers.
As the name suggests, a CVA is a
voluntary arrangement setting out
new terms for payment that must be
agreed by 75% of the company’s
creditors by value within a month of
the proposal being made. At the time
of going to press the terms of the
arrangement had not yet been
finalised but a formal proposal will go
out to all its creditors within the next
four to six weeks.Fairline claims it already has the
support of its three largest creditors
and is confident of winning the
necessary 75% approval for the
CVA, but admits that painful measures
will be needed to transform the
business, including a “significant
number of redundancies”.
Fairline insists that no customers’
deposits or boats still in build are at
risk, that it has sufficient funds to see
it through the intervening period, and
that all its remaining employees arestill being paid. It also claims to have
a new investor waiting in the wings
ready and willing to invest in new
model development once the CVA
has been approved.
A recent dealer meeting is said to
have provided much-needed
reassurance to its global distribution
network and Fairline is confident this
will lead to a number of new and
postponed orders for boats, including
the new Squadron 53GT, which is
scheduled for launch in early 2016.The 1960s Revival area will
include several classic boatsDespite its size, organisers
say boaters will be able to
practice their Med berthing
in the Mediterranean
Bay exhibit