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HOME arrow Manufacturing arrow Oyster Marine swept off its fleet for 70m pounds arrow Registration
Oyster Marine swept off its fleet for 70m pounds
Written by Sam Fountain   
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Major sail: A portion of the money received by Oyster will go into a new chandlery for Fox’s Marina in IpswichOceans of plain sailing await the owner of local luxury yacht builder, Oyster Marine in Ipswich, after the company was snapped up by private equity firm Balmoral for close to £70m. 

Over the last 30 years, yachting has mushroomed from an alternative to camping for the well-to-do, into a multi-billion dollar business catering for the world’s growing number of ludicrously wealthy.

Oyster, the second yacht-builder to be netted by Balmoral, has been building yachts in the region since being founded by current chairman and CEO, Richard Matthews back in 1973.

The business, which generated revenues of more than £50m last year, designs and builds custom craft of up to 125 feet, counting the former chairman of J Sainsbury as one of its recent customers.

Employing around 130 people and based at Fox’s Marina in Ipswich, also owned by Matthews, Oyster sells in the region of 30-40 vessels a year, a number which is rapidly increasing as the number of millionaires increases. A company source said that a portion of the proceeds will go into a new chandlery for the marina, which has already begun construction.

Reports put the annual expansion of the sailing yacht market at 12-14 per cent, evident in the level of activity experienced by the company at the recent London Boat Show, a figure which has caught the eye of private equity.

Oyster operates a yacht repair and manufacture yard in Southampton and has offices in Ipswich, Suffolk and Rhode Island in the US, which will be included in the purchase.
Matthews will stay on as chairman and CEO following the purchase and the business will be maintained in much the same order as it has been recently run because “we’ve been doing things well for 34 years,” a company spokesperson said.

“I will be staying on as chairman and CEO and it will be business as usual for Oyster’s staff,” said Matthews. “We will maintain our ongoing commitment to providing great service for our owners and continuity to the ‘family’ of key subcontractors who are such an important part of our future.”

Matthews referred to the number of suppliers employed by the firm, as Oyster focuses mainly on the design, sales and marketing of its yachts and outsources the majority of the manufacturing.

“As investors we are delighted with the acquisition of Oyster and have every confidence in the existing management team to take the business forward,” said Balmoral Capital co-founder, Richard Winckles.

Twice awarded the Queen’s Award for industry, Oyster’s range of yachts, which begin at 46 feet, have a worldwide reputation for quality and performance. The company currently has two ‘superyacht’ designs, stretching to a massive 100 and 125 feet, under construction in a Turkish shipyard, expected to launch in 2010 and 2011.

Balmoral Capital, co-founded by former Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity executives, Winckles and Alec D’Janoeff, specialises in control investments in companies that have potential to grow and create value in the European mid market.

Businesses acquired by Balmoral typically have an enterprise value of between £20m and £265m and last year saw the firm buy up Canados, an Italian manufacturer of sports motor yachts, which will be run separately.
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