Fairline Boats
Encyclopedia
Fairline Boats Ltd are an English
motor yacht builder, currently owned Better Capital and the RBS. Started in 1963 by Jack Newington, the company presently builds motor yachts in both its original Oundle
base as well as Corby
, Northamptonshire
The company started when Newington bought a series of gravel pit
s on the River Nene
and built the Oundle Marina. In 1967 he launched the first Fairline boat, a 19foot handcrafted glass-reinforced plastic
river cruiser. When Newington's son Sam, a former Royal Air Force
pilot and Columbia University
MBA graduate, took over in 1971, the company employed 14 people. Sam expanded the companies sales network overseas to take advantage of the expanding Mediterranean market place - by 1979 the company employed 140 people and turned over £5million, with production expanded by the success of 1977's Fairline 40 model.
The company expanded in the 1980s developing lines of high speed cruising yachts. When Sam retired in 1996, CEO Derek Carter expanded the company further by establishing Fairline Boats of North America Inc., creating a network of 35 dealers.
In 2002 the 10,000th Fairline was completed, together with new production facilities at the original Oundle site. By 2010, the 12,000th Fairline was completed and shipped, namely a Squadron 55 to a client in Italy. The Fairline Owners Club was founded in 2003, and in 2006 company was purchased by its existing management, funded by 3i.
In Sept 2008 Fairline embarked on a redundancy programme shedding 95 jobs in Dec 08 and a further 250+ jobs in March 09.
Fairline was purchased by Better Capital and the RBS in July 2011.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
motor yacht builder, currently owned Better Capital and the RBS. Started in 1963 by Jack Newington, the company presently builds motor yachts in both its original Oundle
Oundle
Oundle is an ancient market town on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 5,345 or 5,674 . It lies some north of London and south-west of Peterborough...
base as well as Corby
Corby
Corby Town is a town and borough located in the county of Northamptonshire. Corby Town is 23 miles north-east of the county town, Northampton. The borough had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for 49,222 of this figure...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
History
Gravel pit
Gravel pit is the term for an open cast working for extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may fill naturally with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either as nature reserves, or as amenity areas...
s on the River Nene
River Nene
The River Nene is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in the county of Northamptonshire. The tidal river forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk for about . It is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for from Northampton to The...
and built the Oundle Marina. In 1967 he launched the first Fairline boat, a 19foot handcrafted glass-reinforced plastic
Glass-reinforced plastic
Fiberglass , is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by fine fibers of glass. It is also known as GFK ....
river cruiser. When Newington's son Sam, a former Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
pilot and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
MBA graduate, took over in 1971, the company employed 14 people. Sam expanded the companies sales network overseas to take advantage of the expanding Mediterranean market place - by 1979 the company employed 140 people and turned over £5million, with production expanded by the success of 1977's Fairline 40 model.
The company expanded in the 1980s developing lines of high speed cruising yachts. When Sam retired in 1996, CEO Derek Carter expanded the company further by establishing Fairline Boats of North America Inc., creating a network of 35 dealers.
In 2002 the 10,000th Fairline was completed, together with new production facilities at the original Oundle site. By 2010, the 12,000th Fairline was completed and shipped, namely a Squadron 55 to a client in Italy. The Fairline Owners Club was founded in 2003, and in 2006 company was purchased by its existing management, funded by 3i.
In Sept 2008 Fairline embarked on a redundancy programme shedding 95 jobs in Dec 08 and a further 250+ jobs in March 09.
Fairline was purchased by Better Capital and the RBS in July 2011.
Range
The range presently includes the following models:- Squadron - first launched in 1991 with the Squadron62, a "large yacht" range
- Targa - first launched in 1985, a series of sports style boats. The range is topped by the Gran Turismo models, first launched in 2003