South Boats purchases Lyme Boats assets
Under the terms of the agreement, South Boats Special Projects is now able to produce the Vigilante Workboats designs in GRP and aluminium.
South Boats Special Projects Ltd has reached agreement with the administrators of Lyme Boats Ltd to purchase the assets of the former boat building company.
Under the terms of the agreement the Isle of Wight based company is now able to produce the Vigilante Workboats designs in GRP and aluminium. This will enable South Boats to add the GRP Vigilante 33 monohull to its portfolio with two recent examples having been built as pilot and survey vessels.
Most significantly, the acquisition gives South Boats the ability to build the Vigilante 16m offshore wind farm support vessel designs. It is intended that these vessels will be marketed to the industry in addition to the South Boats designs, demonstrating the company’s commitment to offer a broad spectrum of different designs that suit the varying requirements of individual projects and vessel owners/operators.
These vessels will be built in the new fourth production line for ‘special projects’, where the company is currently building Incat Crowther designed vessels for P&O Maritime Services. Existing operators of Vigilante catamarans include Enviroserve Ltd, Wind Wave Workboats Ltd and Gardline Environmental Sciences Ltd. Full details will be available shortly.
Ben Colman of South Boats is quoted as saying, “We are delighted to announce the expansion of our vessel portfolio and, despite the unfortunate position of Lyme Boats, we are pleased that the designs can continue to be available to the market should there be a demand. We can utilise our considerable market experience and reputation for build quality to improve the design, configuration and versatility to suit client requirements.”
Ian Walker, partner at the Exeter office of Administrators Begbies Traynor added, “We were appointed Administrators to Lyme Boats at the end of May. We decided to try and achieve a sale of the assets and the intellectual property on the basis that this would achieve the best possible returns for creditors while keeping the defining characteristics of the business, in particular its designs, intact. I am delighted that this sale has now gone through and that the business will be making such an important contribution to the successes of its new owners.”
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