The B A Peters phoenix?

[Twister_Ken]

"The joint administrators of BA Peters Ltd (appointed 14 August) are pleased to announce the sale of the Chichester, Brixham and Swanwick boat dealerships to a newly formed company which is going to trade as Opal Marine Ltd. "

So how does one find out who is behind Opal Marine Ltd?

 

[Bajansailor]

I saw this on the IBI News just now :

New UK Bavaria Yachts dealer revealed

By IBI Magazine/Practical Boat Owner

Practical Boat Owner, sister title to IBI, has revealed that a brand new company, Clipper Marine, is to become the UK dealer for Bavaria Yachts. The three managing directors — Richard Hewett, Matthew Attree and Johnny Cochran — are all former managers at Peters Opal.

Clipper Marine, based in Northney, Hayling Island, Hampshire, will be on stand F009 at the 2007 Southampton Boat Show.

An official announcement from Bavaria Yachtbau and Clipper Marine is due to be made tomorrow.

Chichester-based Peters Opal, the UK dealer for Bavaria, Island Packet and Legend yachts as well as Azimut and Rodman powerboats, went into administration on August 14, leaving customers uncertain over deposits, warranties and proceeds from brokerage sales.

(6 September 2007)

 

[onlyme]

PBO has learned that a brand new company, Clipper Marine, is to become the UK dealer for Bavaria Yachts. The three managing directors - Richard Hewett, Matthew Attree and Johnny Cochran - are all former managers at Peters Opal.

YBW news item today
Clipper Marine, based in Northney, Hayling Island, Hampshire will be on stand F009 at Southampton Boat Show.

An official announcement from Bavaria Yachtbau and Clipper Marine is due to be made tomorrow.

Chichester-based Peters Opal, the UK dealer for Bavaria, Island Packet and Legend yachts as well as Azimut and Rodman powerboats went into administration on 14 August leaving customers uncertain over deposits, warranties and proceeds from brokerage sales.

 

[onlyme]

don't you just hate it when you have been beaten by a faster typist...........

 

[Danny Jo]

[ QUOTE ]
So how does one find out who is behind Opal Marine Ltd?

[/ QUOTE ] You cough up the fee required by Companies House

This is all they'll give you for free:

Name & Registered Office:
OPALMARINE LIMITED
CHICHESTER MARINA
BIRDHAM
CHICHESTER
WEST SUSSEX PO20 7EJ
Company No. 02205555

Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 15/12/1987

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of Business (SIC(03)):
7499 - Non-trading company

It's interesting that it is listed as a non-trading company, but was incorporated in 1987. I wouldn't be surprised to find that other member(s) of the Peters clan are listed as director(s). Can't find Peters Opal listed. Edit: oh, yes, I can - it's under B.A. Peters PLC

 

[Bajansailor]

Apologies! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Re Clipper Marine, is it usual for a company to have three (joint?) managing directors?

 

[Koeketiene]

[ QUOTE ]

The three managing directors — Richard Hewett, Matthew Attree and Johnny Cochran — are all former managers at Peters Opal.


[/ QUOTE ]

Just thick, I guess - but why would anyone ever trade with this people again?

They screwed up once, so let's give them another chance to screw up in a different way /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Whatever caused Peters Opal to fold - sticky fingers, incompetence, stupidity,... "former Peters Opal managers" is not a good reference when you're looking to get back into the boatselling business.

But like I said, I most likely just thick or too cynical.

 

[onlyme]

Mmmmm, having just re-read the news items I notice that PetersOpal have been sold, now trading as Opal Marine, whereas its Clipper Marine who has the Bavaria dealership. What with the Island Packet franchise being placed with Premier at Swanwick, Sealine having left the fold, this surely only leaves Opal Marine Ltd with Rodman, Azimut and Legend. I must admit to being surprised that that these three dealerships can sustain 30 employees and produce a return on the capital invested.

However, having bought our boat via Swanwick and been hugely impressed by the quality of care and customer service from the staff based there - I wish the Swanwick staff who have joined the new company lots of success for the future.

 

[Richard10002]

[quoteSo how does one find out who is behind Opal Marine Ltd?

[/ QUOTE ]

Werent they called Opal Marine Limited before it bacame Peters Opal... I'm pretty sure my dad bought a Legend 33 from Opal Marine in 1990, and they seemed to Morph into Peters Opal over the years - I may be wrong

It will be truly a scandal to find that the people behind the new company are the same as Peters Opal, or backed by them, or connected in any way whatsoever..... but I guess this is how these things work.

 

[Seven Spades]

Hang on a second be very careful of jumping to the wrong conclusions. Supposing you work for a company that goes bust, you many have nothing whatever to do with the financial,side in fact you may even have seen the problems coming but were powerless. This might just be the opportunity you need to work for yourself rather than someone else.

I am sure that these people are going to be aware that buyers of boats are going to want to be sure that their money is safe. Consequently that are going to have to put in place a method of achieving this.

Unless you know otherwise I think that they deserve the benifit of the doubt.

 

[Emjaytoo]

Provided the individuals have done nothing criminally wrong, they are perfectly at liberty to raise finances by whatever means and purchase the assets and even the name from the administrator, then set up and trade. In the 1990s I saw exactly this happen in the construction industry. It caused a lot of anguish to creditors when they thought the old company was back up and running within weeks, when in fact it was an entirely new company with no liability for the old company's debts.

However since we don't know why old Peters went to the wall it is equally scandalous to make disparaging remarks about individuals when you don't know the facts.

 

[Richard10002]

[ QUOTE ]
Hang on a second be very careful of jumping to the wrong conclusions. Supposing you work for a company that goes bust, you many have nothing whatever to do with the financial,side in fact you may even have seen the problems coming but were powerless. This might just be the opportunity you need to work for yourself rather than someone else.

[/ QUOTE ]

I did say "I might be wrong" and "it will be a scandal if..."

I agree - nothing wrong with the workers seeing and seizing an opportunity - my gripe will be if the existing management/board/whoever ran the show, have done the phoenix deal and it becomes no better than a dodgy fitted kitchen company.

I wonder how much this bit of the business was sold for?

 

[ShamrockGG]

I have just paid my £2 to download the information from the Companies House website about 'Opalmarine Limited' and I think everyone should be interested to know that as 09/06/05 the directors of the company are:
SECRETARY: SAVAGE, FRANCIS JOHN CHRISTOPHER
Appointed: 01/08/2005

DIRECTOR: MORGAN, ANTHONY DAVID MR
Appointed: 01/09/1999

DIRECTOR: PETERS, BRIAN ANTHONY MR
Appointed: 01/09/1999

They are listed as a non-trading company, but I am particularly interested in the last name on the list!!! Also, although they are listed as a currently non-trading, the Parent company is BA Peters PLC...
Personally, I am disgusted!

 

[BrendanS]

That's an old dormant company

 

[Richard10002]

[ QUOTE ]
Provided the individuals have done nothing criminally wrong, they are perfectly at liberty to raise finances by whatever means and purchase the assets and even the name from the administrator, then set up and trade.

[/ QUOTE ]

It doesnt make it any less of a scandal that it is legal... in fact the scandal is that it's legal. It's no different to construction, as you say, or kitchens.

The facts are that, (now we know who the directors of Opal Marine Ltd are), that someone who has done business in such a way as to cause people to lose "their fortune", (and dont pretend that they might not), is running the same business a few weeks later.

The sad thing is that people will be handing over their money in just the same way as before, some in ignorance of what has gone before, some believing that it is the same company, and some will accept the salesmans' waffle about it not being possible for it to happen again

 

[ShamrockGG]

KMPG announced that opalmarine Limited had taken over the dealership and this is the details I got on this company name!
It cannot be a coincidence that Peters name is listed on the new (or old) company

Also, the document I purchased was filed in November 2006.. So very recently

 

[Richard10002]

[ QUOTE ]
That's an old dormant company

[/ QUOTE ]

which means what, in the current context??

 

[Frontier]

I don’t know much about Peters, but being berthed at Chichester I got used to seeing their sizeable operation, I think that Fairline pulling the plug on them is the main cause of their demise. Everyone seems to have forgotten this.

Without that level of business they probably couldn’t sustain the operation. On that very simple level I have a certain amount of sympathy for them. What would we do if we had grown that big and then the biggest part of our business is simply cut from under us?

I don’t know if they did anything dodgy in the mean time but everything in the last year must have been desperate attempts to save the business.

Of course if they tried to cream money out of the business before it went under they deserve some of the comments on here, I have heard that deposits were lost etc, but unless I missed it I have seen no definite post of bad doing by them. It’s a pity an ex employee doesn’t post an inside view.

 

[Bilgediver]

I wonder what is happening to the operation in Scotland????? They are a major part of the second hand boat show in KIp during October.... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Danny Jo]

[ QUOTE ]
I have just paid my £2 to download the information from the Companies House website about 'Opalmarine Limited' and I think everyone should be interested to know that as 09/06/05 the directors of the company are:
SECRETARY: SAVAGE, FRANCIS JOHN CHRISTOPHER
Appointed: 01/08/2005

DIRECTOR: MORGAN, ANTHONY DAVID MR
Appointed: 01/09/1999

DIRECTOR: PETERS, BRIAN ANTHONY MR
Appointed: 01/09/1999

They are listed as a non-trading company, but I am particularly interested in the last name on the list!!! Also, although they are listed as a currently non-trading, the Parent company is BA Peters PLC...
Personally, I am disgusted!

[/ QUOTE ] Thank you for sharing this. My bet was wrong in thinking B A Peters would not be a director himself - on the mistaken grounds personal bankruptcy bars you from directorship, and this of course is not a personal bankruptcy.

But if as you say, you are "disgusted", I wonder how old you are. Surely this sort of thing is as common as mud. Building company goes bankrupt. Administrator manages to find a single purchaser for the old company - a new company run by the same people as ran the old one - purchase financed by "rainy-day" money set aside for this very purpose - and hey presto! the new company is now operating without all those cumbersome debts.