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Oyster Yachts: unexpected bankruptcy of luxury yacht builder

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Yesterday it was reported on yachtingmonthly.com that the British shipbuilder Oyster Yachts has gone bankrupt, placing the company into liquidation and laying off its 160 employees. A spokesman for the firm said an official announcement would be made today but had no comment on the news.

Dutch investment company HTP Investments BV, which acquired the shipyard in early 2012 for an astonishingly low price of £15 million, is rumoured to have refused further financing for the shipbuilder. However, the reasons for this sudden refusal have not been disclosed.

The first yacht under the Oyster brand was launched in 1973. The company was founded by Richard Matthews and sold in 2008 to Balmoral Capital for £70 million.

The second owner decided to dispose of the firm four years after the sale.

Since then exactly 6 years have passed, February is truly a fateful month for the yard, and the company is being wound up.

There is an opinion in the industry that the scandalous situation with the Oyster Polina Star III, which lost its keel and sank off the coast of Spain in 2015, led to its collapse. According to them, too much investment was required to identify and eliminate design flaws.

That said, recent developments in the life of Oyster Yachts do not even hint at any financial problems.

The company unveiled the 75-foot Oyster 745 at the Düsseldorf Boat Show just two weeks ago, making it the largest yacht at the show.

Late last year the yard began building several hulls of its 118ft flagship, increasing its workforce for this purpose and reported having secured orders worth around £80 million.

Back in December Oyster Yachts was actively working with Reichel-Pugh studio on the creation of the 33-metre Project Alpha concept. So the comments from Jim Pugh, president and founder of the design firm, were:

«I am very surprised and disappointed to hear the news about Oyster Yachts. They approached us in December to bring more performance to their 33m design project and expand their portfolio. It was an exciting project».
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