Balmoral Capital, a private equity house specialising in European mid-market transactions, has acquired UK yachtbulder Oyster Marine, which had sales of more than GBP50m in the past financ
Balmoral Capital, a private equity house specialising in European mid-market transactions, has acquired UK yachtbulder Oyster Marine, which had sales of more than GBP50m in the past financial year, for an undisclosed sum.
Oyster was founded in 1973 by current chairman Richard Matthews. It comprises Oyster Marine, which has offices in Ipswich, Suffolk, and Newport, Rhode Island, and the associated businesses of Oyster Brokerage and Southampton Yacht Services.
The firm, which today accounts for almost 1,200 yachts in commission, last year provided the winners in their class in both the Fastnet and Sydney to Hobart races. The company’s current yacht range starts at 46 feet and comprises 12 designs, including two new superyacht models, the Oyster 100 and Oyster 125.
Balmoral, which closed its first fund in April last year, was founded by private equity veterans Richard Winckles and Alec D’Janoeff, who first met at Schroder Ventures (now Permira) and later worked together at Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity.
The acquisition of Oyster is Balmoral’s second transaction, following the purchase last year of Canados, the Italian manufacturer of luxury 70- to 110-foot fly-bridge and sports motor yachts. The two businesses will be run separately.
‘We were attracted to Oyster by the strength of the brand name and the obvious excellence of the product,’ Winckles says. ‘Oyster has a strong order book and record levels of enquiries at the recent London Boat Show. Despite each yacht costing on average GBP1.2m, there is a tremendous resilience to this business and opportunities to promote further growth.’
Matthews will stay on as Oyster’s chairman and chief executive. ‘We will maintain our ongoing commitment to providing great service for our customers,’ he says.
Balmoral Capital specialises in value creation through control investments in European mid-market businesses, typically ranging in value from EUR30 million to EUR500 million. Managing partner Winckles was previously co-head of international private equity and head of Europe for Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity, having been a UK partner and European board member at Schroder Ventures.
D’Janoeff was managing director at Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity with a specific focus on western Europe. Previously he was a partner with Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), based in London and Paris. While at Coopers, he spent a year at Schroder Ventures, where much of his time was spent on the Parker Pen deal.
