It’s unfortunate to hear that Sail Ventures Ltd of Cowes has gone into liquidation.
There were high hopes for the business, which at its peak employed 16 people. Indeed they were one of the Island companies featured on the BBC TV programme Working Lunch (video) (towards the end).
Their Express 40 boat sold for around £200,000 and was built using the latest composites moulding techniques and materials from Newport-based composites specialist, Gurit.
The Express 40 was unusual in Class 40, in that it was Cat 0 rated for Trans-oceanic races where yachts must be completely self sufficient for very extended periods of time, capable of withstanding heavy storms and prepared to meet serious emergencies without the expectation of outside assistance.
Problems
The appointed liquidator, Antony Fanshawe of Begbies Traynor, informed VentnorBlog that the yacht took longer than scheduled to construct which lead to increased costs.
He went on to explain, that “a major blow was dealt last year when delayed delivery of an order resulted in litigation which went against Sail Ventures. This resulted in significant costs, which in the course of time, proved fatal for the business which has debts of nearly half a million pounds.”
Fanshawe is now looking for buyers for Sail Ventures’ assets, which they described as “Essentially a production boat business in a box.”
The templates, production cradles, hull, deck and other moulds, rigging details and dimensions as well as specifications and purchase lists are all available for purchase.
Photo: Express40
