Fairline Yachts is being acquired by Hanover Investors, a London-based private equity investor founded in 2002. “We are delighted to welcome Fairline into our family of portfolio companies,” said Matthew Peacock, founder and CEO of Hanover Investors. “It is a company with a rich heritage of quality, luxury and engineering excellence, and we believe that, with our backing and expertise, it can realise its full potential.”
Jason Carley, who joined Hanover Investors in March as Senior Partner, provides a strong connection to Fairline, having formerly been Chairman of the luxury yacht builder. He was formerly at RiverRock, which was announced as increasing its investment in Fairline in July 2020.
“It is great to be back on board with Fairline. I know from my previous involvement with the company how much potential it has,” Carley said. “It has a very strong order book, an exciting product range and the factory is very busy. We are going to back the management team and the company as a whole to unlock the value within it and to catalyse its growth.”
Fairline was founded in Oundle, Northamptonshire, in 1967 and has a global network of more than 50 dealers including Simpson Marine in Asia. The builder has been acquired for an undisclosed sum via Hanover Active Equity Fund II.
Peter McNulty, CEO of Fairline Yachts, said: “It is a testament to the hard work of the team here at Fairline that a firm with the calibre of Hanover Investors has decided to back us.
“It has an excellent track record of working with companies through its world-class approach to integrating both investment and operations, with a particular focus on internationalising companies. While we already have an impressive international footprint, with Hanover by our side, I know we can go a lot further and faster.”