Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Fairline Boats Acquired By Wessex Bristol

29th September 2015

Wessex Bristol has announced its acquisition of Fairline Boats Limited from Better Capital PPC. The acquisition of Fairline is in line with Wessex Bristol’s strategy to invest in luxury brands and to grow its presence in the luxury boating industry.

Ayiaz Ahmed, CEO of Wessex Bristol, said: “We are excited to be adding Fairline to our brand portfolio, building on our successes in the luxury boat market with our iconic Fletcher brand. Fairline is a leading global luxury yacht brand and has just launched its new Targa 53GT model, which was very well received at the recent Southampton Boat Show. We now look forward to taking Fairline on its next stage of growth, building on the brand’s strong following in the worldwide boating community.”

Kevin Dady, who was interim CEO at Fairline, commented: "We have invested a lot in the turnaround of Fairline and are pleased that Wessex Bristol has taken ownership of the company. We wish them, the company and its staff all the best for the future"

Ayiaz Ahmed will be stepping in as CEO of Fairline on 29 September replacing Kevin Dady who will depart immediately to continue his role as operating partner at Better Capital.

Wessex Bristol owns and operates a portfolio of exclusive brands in the luxury sector including Fletcher, a leading UK-based luxury sportsboat manufacturer.

Fairline, which has manufacturing bases in Oundle and Corby in Northamptonshire, is a leading global brand specialising in the design, engineering, manufacture and distribution of luxury boats in the range of 38 to 80 feet. The business was jointly acquired by Better Capital’s 2009 Fund and West Register Investments Limited in July 2011.

Published in Marine Trade
Afloat.ie Team

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven’t put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full–time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

Direct Donation to Afloat button