Riviera Exits Administration

by Stephen Milne on 28 Jun 2010 Riviera has received written notification on Friday June 25, 2010 from the company's Deed Administrators that the Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) established in conjunction with Riviera's creditors on January 22 this year has now been completed and thus Riviera has now officially exited from Administration.

Following the withdrawal of the business for sale previously announced on April 9, 2010 and the finalisation of the administration, Management and the Receivers are now planning Rivieras' exit from receivership later this year.

Under the terms of the DOCA, all current and former employees have received all of their unpaid wages, superannuation, annual leave and any relevant redundancy payments. Current Riviera employee's entitlements will continue to accrue and be available to those employees in the ordinary course of business.

Unsecured creditors have also received a dividend payment under the terms of the DOCA.

The payments to employees and unsecured creditors have effectively cleared all pre-administration appointment unsecured claims against the company enabling it now to trade in its own right, outside of the formal administration process. This move also paves the way for the business to prepare to exit Receivership.

'The completion of the DOCA is yet another significant milestone in the rapid recovery of Riviera over the last twelve months,' commented John Anderson, Riviera's Chief Executive Officer.

'Riviera has embraced change and travelled a significant voyage since May 2009. Just last month at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat show we sold 19 new boats with a total retail value of over AUD $20 million. Nine of these 19 sales were for our brilliant new 43 Open Flybridge model that boasts a major step-change in concept design and the latest in marine technology including IPS propulsion.

'The positive news of Riviera exiting Administration will be well received by the market. As we head into the Sydney International Boat Show that starts on July 29 next month, this timing is perfect and hopefully will assist in replicating our Sanctuary Cove Show success.

'Over the last 12 months we have achieved a weekly sales run rate of 2.3 new boats per week. As we move into the boat show season internationally and our local summer, we are anticipating an annualised production of over 100 new boats next financial year. For us this means introducing another production line into the business commencing next month and the recruiting of additional staff to help us meet this steadily growing demand.

Clearly, the Riviera brand is very strong and we continue to be indebted to our staff, dealers, suppliers and owners of Riviera boats the world over for their support.'

Riviera offers 20 different models from 36 to 85 feet across four model series Flybridge, Sport Yacht, Offshore Express and Motor Yachts.

For more information, please go to www.riviera.com.au