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Sea Otter 'in administration'
19 May 2008
BB spoke to Mike Cook of the Sea Otter Boats main dealer, Walton Marine Sales, who told us the company had gone into administration. 'Sea Otter have been very sensible about the way they've done the administration and we've managed to make sure all the boats in production have been finished and no customers have lost out in any way,' he said, emphasising that no customers funds have been lost at all.
The factory is currently down to four or five selected members of staff who are finishing off the one boat which was half built which is owned by Walton Marine Sales.
When asked if the other members of staff had gone, Mr Cook replied: 'As far as I know.' Mr Cook put the demise of the company down to the lack of orders. 'Demand has dropped right off through the course of the winter and generally discretionary products are the first to go into a recession and the last to come out,' he told BB, adding the Sea Otter factory requires a certain level of demand which is not sustainable any more.
Sea Otter was started in 1990 by Ray and Cindy Shepherd and grew to be the largest alloy builder in Europe and one of the largest metal boatbuilders in the UK employing a highly skilled workforce of 50 persons. Mr Shepherd retired recently and was in the process of handing the company over to his nephew, Paul Hobson.
'Ray was genuinely in the process of handing the business over to Paul,' said Mr Cook. 'It's a family business and a coincidence I think that this happened so soon after Ray retired.' Ray has tried to assist with advice, he added, but when the demand doesn't meet the needs of the factory, you have to be sensible about it.
'We've got stocks available for sale and we'll be selling that in the normal course of the year,' said Mr Cook.
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