It was not so very long ago that the financial future of Fairline the British Boat builder looked somewhat grim.
Now in its 50th year and flush with cash from Russian investors, the company is not only well in the pink but it is expanding at a dramatic rate
The company has taken possession of the 5-acre waterside location at Hythe, Southampton Water, on England’s South coast.
Building work is expected to take around nine months to complete.
Fairline is expecting to launch the new facility and begin boat building on the South Coast in the late summer of 2018.
The new manufacturing facility encompasses the former Green Marine factory left vacant following the demise of that company last year and also the Solent Marine facility which is home to amongst others; Solent Refit. The site also includes the listed building where flying boats were constructed and later maintained
The new facility will enable Fairline to build larger yachts, which has not been possible at the firm’s existing Oundle, Northamptonshire location.
The boat yard’s manufacturing base in Oundle will continue to operate and will build boats up to 60ft. Boats over 60ft will be built at the new site in Hythe with testing, commissioning and customer handover also taking place there.
Conveniently located in Southampton Water, it has large vessel deep water berths and over 18,000 sq metres of undercover manufacturing space.
It is expected the new facility will initially create up to 200 jobs in the Southampton area ad among boat builders this will be welcome news given that 50 or so were laid off when Green Marine collapsed
Russell Currie, Managing Director of Fairline Yachts, comments, “As the global yachting market evolves, clients from across the world are increasingly demanding larger yachts than we’ve been able to create. Our new site, to be named Fairline Marine Park, will boast state-of-the-art facilities, giving us room to expand and create bigger boats, whilst making the most of the existing boat building skills in the location.
By increasing its manufacturing capabilities across both Northampton and Southampton, Fairline Yachts is future-proofing the British brand and retaining its commitment of investing in British boat building.”