Oyster Yachts getting back on track

Oyster Yachts’s new owner, Richard Hadida, is looking to kickstart the shipyard’s production at its two main bases.

The gaming entrepreneur announced on Twitter that Oyster has begun a recruitment drive just a month after he bought the ailing shipyard out of administration.

Two administrators from Netherlands Auditing firm KPMG were brought on to help sell the shipyard. The joint-administrators put all the company’s assets up for sale and saw a large amount of interest from potential buyers – with Mr Hadida winning the bid.

Mr Hadida made his fortune launching gaming software development company Evolution Gaming.

“As the new owner of Oyster Yachts, my immediate priority is to our loyal customers. We are already underway with our recruitment drive to begin production in our shipyards in Wroxham and Southampton,” wrote Mr Hadida in a recent Twitter update.

“As a passionate advocate of Oyster yachts and a lifelong sailor, I am firmly committed to re-establish Oyster as the premium designer and manufacturer of yachts in the world.

“I am exited for the challenges ahead and look forward to sharing this journey with you.”

When the company entered liquidation, the majority of its workforce were made redundant before KPMG was appointed.

Mr Hadida’s first priority was to re-hire the original staff working at the shipyard before its liquidation.

Before the company entered liquidation, it had a substantial order book coming into 2018 valued at around £80 million. The shipyard also had a successful showing at the Dusseldorf Boat Show. The company entered administration after its main backer, HTP withdrew funding.