Sea Ventures UK liquidated and restarted

wonkywinch said:
Looks like the Jeanneau agent "Sea Ventures (UK) Limited" has wound things up and started again as "Sea Ventures (South Coast) Limited".

Sea Ventures enters a new phase of development - Sea Ventures

06752600 LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK
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I bought my first boat off Sea Ventures back in early 2000s. Wet behind the ears, took them a bankers draft and got a receipt only! I was expecting the bill of sale etc! Nothing, just dismissal and “they” will get back to you! I waited a week or do, was starting to twitch! Then it all went through ish.
Arranged a lo loader, rigger to take the mast off etc, then SV said they couldn’t do it in the time frame. Had to re arrange all for a week later. The boat finally arrived in Pwllheli. Then I got a bill for a weeks rent on the hard off them! I told them in no uncertain terms where to go! Shortly afterwards they did a pheonix thing. I twitch everytime I think of it!
 
I nearly bought a Southerly 35 RS some years ago. They gave me an excellent price of , if I remember right, £130k, but when I checked up on the company and before I signed a contract or paid anything, I found that the assets of the business ( land etc) was in a totally separate business and the boat building business stood on its own. Having worked all my life in business , it was obvious to me that when they set up the business they had taken steps to protect their own interests should anything go wrong. Fair enough - likely |I would have done the same thing myself. All the same I didnt buy the boat. As it turned out I would have been OK because the business went on for some time before hitting the buffers. Nevertheless, the very fact that they wanted paying in stages showed that they were undercapitalised.

Never ever pay for anything before you get it!
 
Certainly seems some cross pollination of the directors with other local marine companies.

SEA VENTURES LIMITED - 20 December 1961 to 3 March 2013 (now PERFORMANCE RACE YACHTS LIMITED)
SEA VENTURES (UK) LIMITED - 18 Nov 2008 to 17 Sep 2025
SEA VENTURES (SOUTH COAST) LIMITED - 19 October 2007 to present

ATLANTIC YACHTS (DARTMOUTH) LIMITED - 6 June 2022 to 11 February 2025
ATLANTIC YACHTS SW LIMITED - 26 June 2018 to present
COLBURT MARINE GROUP LIMITED - 29 November 2016 to present
PERFORMANCE RACE YACHTS LIMITED - 14 October 2016 to present
LIBERTY YACHTS LTD - 30 October 1986 to present
 
In June 2025 their management accounts show net assets of £930k. But in September 2025 they are expected to pay only 15% to secondary preferred creditors and not a bean to unsecured creditors.
So, that means that nearly a million pounds of net assets disappeared in less than 3 months.

Maybe overvalued stock up to June? That’s the most positive interpretation I can think of.
 
chriss999 said:
In June 2025 their management accounts show net assets of £930k. But in September 2025 they are expected to pay only 15% to secondary preferred creditors and not a bean to unsecured creditors.
So, that means that nearly a million pounds of net assets disappeared in less than 3 months.

Maybe overvalued stock up to June? That’s the most positive interpretation I can think of.
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If you read the Administrators Proposals I linked to they mention explicitly that the boat stock valuation figures in the management accounts were unrealistic compared to what might be realised (presumably due to a falling market and needing more discounts to shift stock).
 
Perhaps related to the Sea Ventures situation:

In France, this summer, it was noticeable that the Groupe Beneteau (which includes Jeanneau) dealerships had big discount stickers all over their stock boats. With Beneteau having, apparently, paused production whilst a dealer stock backlog was cleared.

Pogo, when I visited them in Sainte-Marine (so not a totally impartial source) told me that the Benny & Jeanneau agents have to commit to their stock a year in advance. And had been caught out by the crazy Covid demand evaporating. In part because of hard to justify (on input cost grounds) price hikes, during that bubble period.

Don’t know how much of the above holds true for the UK. Or when the dealerships have to pay Groupe Benny, for the stock that they have committed to.
 
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John_Silver said:
Perhaps related to the Sea Ventures situation:

In France, this summer, it was noticeable that the Groupe Beneteau (which includes Jeanneau) dealerships had big discount stickers all over their stock boats. With Beneteau having, apparently, paused production whilst a dealer stock backlog was cleared.

Pogo, when I visited them in Sainte-Marine (so not a totally impartial source) told me that the Benny & Jeanneau agents have to commit to their stock a year in advance. And had been caught out by the crazy Covid demand evaporating. In part because of hard to justify (on input cost grounds) price hikes, during that bubble period.

Don’t know how much of the above holds true for the UK. Or when the dealerships have to pay Groupe Benny, for the stock that they have committed to.
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The price increases have been fairly eye-watering, unfortunate timing when the economy as a whole is struggling and people are scratching around for cash.

Not that it affects the dealers over here, but I understand that production was badly hit due to sales to the US being badly affected by all the uncertainty caused by Trump and his tariffs.
 
barca nova said:
I nearly bought a Southerly 35 RS some years ago. They gave me an excellent price of , if I remember right, £130k, but when I checked up on the company and before I signed a contract or paid anything, I found that the assets of the business ( land etc) was in a totally separate business and the boat building business stood on its own. Having worked all my life in business , it was obvious to me that when they set up the business they had taken steps to protect their own interests should anything go wrong. Fair enough - likely |I would have done the same thing myself. All the same I didnt buy the boat. As it turned out I would have been OK because the business went on for some time before hitting the buffers. Nevertheless, the very fact that they wanted paying in stages showed that they were undercapitalised.

Never ever pay for anything before you get it!
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Northshore was set up that way when I joined them in 1990 under it's previous long term owner. The boats were built to order (97% of the time) and therefore stage payments were the industry norm with this kind of build. If anyone was worried about the business the funds could go into an independent solicitors account which were released upon completion and builders certificate obtained. Hassle for all yes, but protection for the buyer and the builders bank can see that money is coming in at the end of the build (usually around 6 months on a Southerly)
 
chriss999 said:
In June 2025 their management accounts show net assets of £930k. But in September 2025 they are expected to pay only 15% to secondary preferred creditors and not a bean to unsecured creditors.
So, that means that nearly a million pounds of net assets disappeared in less than 3 months.

Maybe overvalued stock up to June? That’s the most positive interpretation I can think of.
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Were there no preferred creditors like say the banks. Or even the principals? You only mention second preferred and unsecured. And dont forget the liquidators - from hard past experience, their only concern is their own fees and the money owed to the people who appointed them. After that they sell anything in stock at silly prices - it simply doesnt matter to them.
 
There should be something to stop this sort of thing. Perhaps there is?

It really sounds ludicrously awful doesn’t it?

In the early 2000s there was a company called Reliance Yacht Management; boat delivery.

They pushed an ex RNLI coxswain to plough on and deliver a yacht at a particular date; I believe people perished.

Company folded I think (at least once) and started again with a similar name (I do not know the details or if the director/ CEO was found culpable in court) but if so, then he would not have been allowed to be a director of the ‘new company’ afaik.

Just found some info; there is too much to post, but seems same CEO is running it now.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2012-05-23/debates/12052382000002/YachtAndBoatDeliveryCompanies(SafetyRegulations)#:~:text=The judge concluded in the,boat within that time scale.

I thought it was early 2000s

Google has just shown Ybw had a thread about it much later:

I

Thread 'BBC ‘Inside Out’ (South West) Mon 16 Jan asks: Did a yacht delivery company pressuris'

Apologies if this is already being discussed, thought it would have been - have had a search and couldn't find a thread covering it

This from a friends blog

BBC ‘Inside Out’ (South West) Mon 16 Jan asks: Did a yacht delivery company pressurise Devon men into sailing in dangerous conditions?


WITHOUT PREJUDICE

I’ve been contacted by this lady Wendy Wood with the following information which seems to me to be worth highlighting on my personal blog.

These are entirely her words:

In December 2006 my brother, a yacht delivery skipper, and his two crew were lost at sea during a hurricane...
 
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barca nova said:
…. And dont forget the liquidators - from hard past experience, their only concern is their own fees and the money owed to the people who appointed them. After that they sell anything in stock at silly prices - it simply doesnt matter to them.
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Very true! The little guys are very bottom of the pile, the lowest of the low and barely to be considered.
 
Not commenting on the particular case in point but on insolvency in general.

The stark fact is that when a company can’t pay its debts and its affairs are put under the control of an insolvency practitioner, at least some of the creditors are going to lose out.

The real takeaway must be to think carefully about where one puts one’s money when a business is making shiny promises in order to avoid disappointment when those promises turn to dust.
 
benjenbav said:
Not commenting on the particular case in point but on insolvency in general.

The stark fact is that when a company can’t pay its debts and its affairs are put under the control of an insolvency practitioner, at least some of the creditors are going to lose out.

The real takeaway must be to think carefully about where one puts one’s money when a business is making shiny promises in order to avoid disappointment when those promises turn to dust.
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Exactly so. Again, not a comment on this case, but it is a particularly bitter pill for creditors who have lost out, in the case of “Phoenix” companies where the same directors are allowed by the receiver to buy back the company shorn of its debts and then carry on trading.
 
Frogmogman said:
Exactly so. Again, not a comment on this case, but it is a particularly bitter pill for creditors who have lost out, in the case of “Phoenix” companies where the same directors are allowed by the receiver to buy back the company shorn of its debts and then carry on trading.
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Again not commenting on this case, but we had one a few years back. Our worst ever bad debt, company went bust owing us circa £30k. 2 weeks later the owner of that company rang up and said he was back in business with a new company, expecting to get all his old contracts back. We said, "sure, when you've paid us the £30k we'll deal with you on a cash before shipment basis". He tried to lecture me about "how the world works". Then got very cross when I refused to deal with him until he'd paid the £30k.

We now use a different distributor in that part of the world.
 
The announcement on the website is worthy of a creative writing award:

We are happy to announce that from 16th September 2025 Sea Ventures (UK) Ltd moved forward as Sea Ventures (South Coast) Ltd. The team are delighted to welcome new additional investors on board enabling us to future-proof the company and succession plan.

Now we are looking forward to the next phase of our development and continued success.

Actually the company has gone bust leaving unsecured creditors anticipated to receive nothing. While I'm happy to wish people 'success' in their business and work, to describe this as 'the next phase of our development and continued success' is laughable.

The point is, of course, that Sea Ventures (UK) Ltd has not 'moved forward as Sea Ventures (South Coast) Ltd' . It has gone bust and Sea Ventures (South Coast) Ltd has bought its assets but not taken on its liabilities.

I don't suggest that this is anything other than honest and legal. However it would be good if the new owners of the assets were more accurate in describing how they came to be using a name with some similarity to that of the failed business.

Not 'continued success' but a fresh start.
 
jbweston said:
The announcement on the website is worthy of a creative writing award:

We are happy to announce that from 16th September 2025 Sea Ventures (UK) Ltd moved forward as Sea Ventures (South Coast) Ltd. The team are delighted to welcome new additional investors on board enabling us to future-proof the company and succession plan.

Now we are looking forward to the next phase of our development and continued success.

Actually the company has gone bust leaving unsecured creditors anticipated to receive nothing. While I'm happy to wish people 'success' in their business and work, to describe this as 'the next phase of our development and continued success' is laughable.

The point is, of course, that Sea Ventures (UK) Ltd has not 'moved forward as Sea Ventures (South Coast) Ltd' . It has gone bust and Sea Ventures (South Coast) Ltd has bought its assets but not taken on its liabilities.

I don't suggest that this is anything other than honest and legal. However it would be good if the new owners of the assets were more accurate in describing how they came to be using a name with some similarity to that of the failed business.

Not 'continued success' but a fresh start.
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Yes, incredible to describe as “continued success” - and very distressing to the poor creditors.
Presumably if this same “success” “continues” then we can confidently expect the new company to successfully go insolvent again very soon.
 
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