Bavaria Yachts Go Into Administration

I realise I'm way behind the time however Bavaria have gone pop.

23-04-2018
SELF-ADMINISTRATION ORDERED – PRODUCTION AND DELIVERIES TO CONTINUE AS NORMAL
Self-administration means: executive management has full legal authority.
Wages and salaries will be secured until June 2018 using insolvency compensation.
Restructuring expert Dr. Tobias Brinkmann from Brinkmann & Partner joins executive management.
The goal of the process is to implement an investor solution.

In accordance with the application of the Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH, the district court of Würzburg today ordered provisional self-administration. Dr. Hubert Ampferl of the law firm Dr. Beck & Partner has been appointed interim administrator.

The shipyard operations will continue seamlessly over the next few months. The delivery season is currently in full swing, so that it will be possible to process a large order backlog over the coming months. “In the current situation, we will continue to provide our customers with the customary high quality,” says Erik Appel, COO. The existing executive management is being expanded to include Dr. Tobias Brinkmann, a specialist insolvency lawyer and partner in the national law firm Brinkmann & Partner. He has extensive experience of reorganising shipyards. The previous CEO, Lutz Henkel, left the executive management last week.

The top priority is now to search for an investor. “We have many years of experience building high-quality yachts and are industry leaders in technology in many areas,” says Appel. Against the background of the good market positioning, the company is seeking to address both strategic as well as financial investors. The procedure is intended to put operations on a sound financial footing.

The first operational restructuring steps, such as the introduction of clear organisational structures in production, have already been implemented. These activities will be continued consistently.

Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH was founded in 1978 and is among the market leaders in European yacht building. Payment of wages and salaries for the months of April to June 2018 will be secured by insolvency compensation. The some 600 employees have been informed in detail.

The petition for insolvency refers exclusively to the Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH.
The French subsidiary Bavaria Catamarans SAS in Rochefort will continue to operate as normal.



Giebelstadt, 23 April 2018

 

I read this comment on ybw:

I guess thats the problem facing boat builders (unlike cars) boats dont really breakdown / scrap easy, from memory when Mr Winter was looking for a Centaur it seemed every yard he went to was overflowing with boats abeit covered in moss and ***** but unless someone is going to consciously dispose of the vessel it'll stay there till the end of time or until the yard owner does something. And as many will be only too aware when trying to sell their boat the market is dead / not what it once was because of the glut in supply as well as the economy.

Also factor in the way people sail now (charter instead of ownership), the hollowing-out of the middle classes that'd traditionally own boats, competition from other 'easier' sports / pastimes etc and we'll see alot more sailboat builders go to the wall in the next ten years. IMO the market just cant support the number of 'me too' boat builders thats to say many products from many builders with almost no distinguishable differences not other thing.

also

...... the only private people buying new AWBs are the increasingly elderly remains of the post-war sailing boom generation. Younger people charter, which makes far more sense, but although that creates a charter market it's far smaller than the private owner one, because each boat is used maybe ten times as much.
++

This discussion will go on and on I'm sure however one factor will cause the death of the industry: old grp boats don't die.

In a nutshell, why buy this Saffier 8m for $115,000 2014 Saffier SC 8M Cabin Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2014/Saffier-SC-8M-Cabin-3133575/Hamburg/Germany?refSource=browse%20listing#.Wx29DNUzZ0w

when you can buy this boat for $2,000? Achilles 24 Used Boat for Sale 1978 | TheYachtMarket https://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_sale/1418103/

My own 43 year old Achilles 24 (repainted hull last year, refurbished interior the year before) is perfect for what I need sailing locally (though one was sailed from the UK to NZ). Wooden yachts decayed and were burnt. Grp will last forever providing sailors with cheap alternatives to buying new until someone finally comes up with a recycling scheme.

Another example of an aging but great fun boat was my earlier First Class 8 which allows folks to get onto the water cheaply.
Beneteau First Class 8 Used Boat for Sale 1984 | TheYachtMarket https://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_sale/1367551/