Hunton seeks voluntary liquidation

Assets of Hampshire-based Hunton Powerboats to be put up for sale

Hunton Powerboats has called a meeting of its creditors with a view to putting the company into voluntary liquidation.

The Hampshire based manufacturer of high performance sportsboats has instructed licensed insolvency practitioners Valentine & Co to handle the process. The first step involves giving its creditors at least two weeks notice of its intentions and the meeting has now been set for the second week of December.

Hunton, which manufactures a range of high performance sportscruisers and RIBs from 27ft to 43ft in Romsey, Hampshire, is well known for the build quality and seakeeping of its hulls but has struggled to compete in recent years with higher volume builders in the UK and US.

It had been pinning its hopes on an all new 54ft model due for launch later this year but the future of the new boat and the company is now uncertain. It is not a pre-packaged administration.

The Hunton XRS52 concept

Valentine & Co has appointed valuation and insolvency agents Williams and Partners to handle the sale of the assets, which includes the intellectual property rights to the full range of Hunton craft, as well as the brand name and any remaining stock and machinery.

“Our task is to sell the assets of the business to obtain the best return possible for the creditors,” said Antony Berg, director at Williams and Partners.

Hunton’s most recent build, a highly customised tender for a new megayacht still in construction, was delivered to its new owners days before the news of its impending liquidation broke.

Whether this spells the end of another great British name or turns out to be the starting point for a new revitalized company in the mould of Fairline Yachts is not yet clear.

Anyone interested in bidding for Hunton’s assets should contact Antony Berg at Williams and Partners on tel 020 3195 1407 or email antony@wapl.co.uk.