Fairline Yachts on crest of a wave at boat show

Fairline Yachts has mounted an impressive display at the five day annual show which attracts customers and boat builders from around the world.

It is the latest triumph in a remarkable revival for the company, from Oundle, which was built out of the assets of the former Fairline Boats after its collapse in December 2015 with the loss of 380 jobs.

Since then, the company has steadily increased its employee numbers to nearly 400 and has unveiled a £30 million pound venture to create a manufacturing hub at Hythe, off Southampton Water, while retaining its head office in Oundle.

Fairline’s managing director Russell Currie said: “The amount of interest in Fairline and our story from zero in January 2016 to launching our F-Line 33 performance line of boats, alongside the announcement of our new Southampton facility which secures the future of our HQ in Oundle, has been incredible.

“We are very pleased with this, and the quality that we are able to show at this year’s London Boat Show.

Mr Currie added: “We have been pleasantly surprised with the footfall at the show.

“While we did have indication of customers attending, we didn’t really know what to expect because this is the first London Boat Show, as far as I can remember in my 29 years of attendance, that hasn’t been at least a 10 day show. So, this year we had no real idea of what the footfall was going to be like but we have been impressed with the turnout.”