But new owners of parent company, Broom Boats Ltd, hope to restart manufacturing before Christmas
One of Britain’s oldest boatbuilders, CJ Broom & Sons, has been closed with the loss of approximately 70 jobs.
Mark Garner, chairman of parent company Broom Boats Ltd told MBY that the manufacturing side of the business had been “heavily loss making” for three years, and last year produced just six boats.
Fifteen staff have been retained on the production line to finish work on the last two Broom boats at the company’s yard in Brundall, Norfolk.
The closure of CJ Broom & Sons does not otherwise affect the operations of the parent company, which runs a 150-berth marina, a repair and maintenance facility, boat brokerage and fuel services.
And while 112 years of boatbuilding history may have just ended, Garner, who took over the company with business partner Akis Chrisovelides in July, is hopeful of restarting the production of Broom craft before Christmas.
“Broom Boats is still a profit making enterprise, and I’m hoping that forms the bedrock to take boatbuilding forward in the future,” he said.
“It was impossible to reorganise the business in its current form. We had to stop the car and give it a good service before continuing again.
“We’re not destined to be at the Southampton Boat Show, but we are destined to be at the London Boat Show with the current range of boats, albeit slightly modified and enhanced. We’re going to refresh the range.”
