Broom Boats: the end of an era
Martin Broom: ‘I’m pleased at the outcome’
After 112 years as a family business, Broom Boats is to have new owners in Mark Garner and Akis Chrisovelides, two businessmen who live and work in Norfolk. Martin Broom will remain as the company president.
END OF AN ERA: Martin and Jennifer Broom have decided the time is right to move on and hand over the reins of Broom Boats after 112 years of being a family-run business.
‘I feel sad and relieved,’ Martin Broom told BB. ‘We’ve been very lucky with our health, but we obviously were pushing our luck.’
Another factor for the Brooms was their workforce. ‘With the number of people here who’ve never worked anywhere else, we had to find a solution,’ said Mr Broom. ‘Fortunately it’s come along and it’s been very amicable.’
The company has a workforce of around 80. ‘It used to be more. We closed down Aquafibre and brought the moulding in house here and that made it much better,’ said Mr Broom. ‘The company used to a do lot of moulding for the hire boat fleets, first on the Broads and then the European waterways.’
I’m pleased at the outcome, said Mr Broom. It hasn’t been easy in the industry in the last couple of years.
So what now, BB asked? ‘I’ll still be around in an advisory capacity – if they want it,' he said. ‘I’ll help out with boat shows and represent them at the BMF. But it will be nice to have a bit of time. And I’m not giving up boating altogether.’
Mark Garner and Akis Chrisovelides are now chairman and managing director respectively. ‘We’re excited and feel privileged to have this opportunity in a sector which is so important to Norfolk.’
The pair, who recently led the successful turnaround of UK Fire - another Norfolk based business - said the quality and heritage of the brand, and the depth of experience, craftsmanship and pride of the people within Brooms is, in their opinion, the best in the UK.
‘In the longer term, we’ll be working on the next generation of Broom Boats in conjunction with the wants and views of our customers.’
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