Please select your home edition
Edition
Vaikobi 2024 December

Nautor Swan expands into UK via Camper & Nicholson

by Mark Bullingham on 24 Jul 2001
he Nautor Group formally announced today, the aquisition
of the historic Camper & Nicholsons yard in Gosport, England. Nautor will
continue to operate the yard, founded in 1782, as Camper & Nicholsons, with
business initiatives designed to turn the yard into a centre of excellence.

Nautor's main objective is to build and refit superyachts at the yard, which
will also act as a service yard for Nautor's Swans. In particular, the yard
will concentrate on one-off projects.

Leonardo Ferragamo, Chairman of the Nautor group, explained the rationale
for the decision: 'We first looked into this opportunity as we could not
conceive that such a prestigious and historical yard could be dismantled and
its workforce, consisting of very skilled boat builders and capable
craftsmen, made redundant. Also, the yard is in such an important area, as
the Solent is one of the centres for yachting in the world.'

'While we shall determinedly re-launch the traditional boat building ability
of Camper & Nicholsons as a long term project, we shall also, along with
Hamble Yacht Services, have the capacity to utilize these facilities to
increase and improve the services for the existing fleet of Swans in the UK
as well as to fine-tune the Swans that have just sailed their first 1400
miles from Finland'.

Nautor's Managing Director, Luciano Scaramuccia is to become chairman of
Camper & Nicholsons,with Pat Lilley, a director of Nautor's English agents
and Mikael Still, Nautor's Chief Financial Officer, appointed as board
members of the company.

Luciano Scaramuccia commented: 'The traditional values of high craftsmanship
of both these companies and the timeless elegance of their products are
excellent assets on which to build the future. Our intention is to have a
great synergy between the two companies and to merge our different
experiences in order to create an important 'centre of excellence'.

The Nautor Group has stated three main areas to concentrate on at the yard.
Firstly, to push forward with the boat building activity. Nautor is aiming
to bring back to Camper & Nicholsons, with a modern perspective, the ability
to build some of the most spectacular one-off designs in the world, whether
built in a traditional manner or using high tech methods. This is a
different market segment to Nautor's Swan as the products themselves do not
overlap and there is a clear differentiation between the brands.

Secondly, the refit market is very important for Camper & Nicholsons.
Nautor wants to maintain the tradition of the workforce that has been
involved in refitting some of the most historic yachts in the world, in an
activity that complements the yacht building business.

Thirdly , there is a large Nautor's Swan fleet in England that can be
serviced at the yard or at Hamble Yacht Services, in addition to the boats
that are travelling down from Pietarsaari. These Swan yachts will now have
a new option for a base, immediately after their initial testing period on
the sail down from Finland. Nautor's Swan now has the ability to control
this area of the after sales process and focus on a high level of quality
for Swan owners.

The Nautor Group is aiming to benefit from the cross experience that can be
generated between the technical and marketing knowledge in Nautor's Swan and
at Camper & Nicholsons.

The acquisition of the Camper & Nicholsons yard reinforces the Nautor Group,
by enlarging its global offering of luxury sailing boats and its credibility
in all areas of business, including after sales service.

The short term aim is to consolidate the turnover of the Camper & Nicholsons
yard - approximately 12 million Euros - and concentrate on its efficiency.

Camper & Nicholson also has a history of working with the Ministry of
Defence, which the new ownership hopes to maintain.

For the successful completion of this deal Nautor was advised by Palazzo
Feroni Finanziaria and Sherwin Oliver Solicitors.

Nautor's Swan was founded in 1966. The company quickly acquired a global
reputation as a builder of luxury sailing yachts capable of outstanding
performance. Nautor's Swan yachts are considered the ultimate ocean-going,
performance, luxury sailing yacht of unrivalled quality.

Nautor has constructed over 1700 yachts ranging form 36 to 112 feet in size.
Nearly 100% of these yachts are still in use, with approximately 60% based
in Europe and 30% in the USA.

In May 1998 Nautor was acquired by an international consortium under the
leadership of Leonardo Ferragamo, an Italian fashion business entrepeneur,
who became the majority shareholder. Since the acquisition, Nautor has
experienced substantial improvement both interms of economic performance and
market leadership.

In 1997, Nautor's net sales were 28 million Euros with a negative EBIT.

From 1998 onwards there has been an escalation in sales and a consolidation
of the profitability of the group. The sales estimate for 2001 is 66
million Euros.
Doyle_SailWorld_728X90px_GP BOTTOMHyde Sails 2024 - One DesignSea Sure 2025

Related Articles

Scandinavian Gold Cup at Sopot, Poland Day 1
A slow start with very little wind The Scandinavian Gold Cup opened Thursday in Sopot, Poland, with seven 5.5 Metres competing for this historic and iconic trophy that dates back to 1922. Unfortunately, there was not enough wind to even complete one race.
Posted on 5 Jun
49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 Europeans Day 3
A six-hour bake on the water Veteran and multi-Olympic race officer Sulis was clear at the morning briefing, "Our priority is to get three races for the 49er so they can progress to the gold fleet."
Posted on 5 Jun
Galicia 52 Super Series Royal Cup Day 3
Platoon Aviation turn up the heat but don't dent American Magic Quantum Racing's lead After a disappointing first regatta of the season when they finished in an uncharacteristic last position in Saint-Tropez, the fortunes of the German flagged 2023 52 SUPER SERIES overall champions Platoon Aviation seem to have turned for the better.
Posted on 5 Jun
Diverse international fleet for 5th AEGEAN 600
The race start is a little over 1 month away In a sign that this newest of the world's 600-mile classic offshore races has reached maturity, organizers from the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club are pleased to announce yet another large international fleet will be assembled for the 2025 AEGEAN 600.
Posted on 5 Jun
America's Cup: Another sponsor signs for Italians
Luna Rossa has announced that Unipol has renewed its trust in the team Luna Rossa has announced that Unipol has renewed its trust in the team and will accompany it as an official sponsor for the duration of the 38th America's Cup.
Posted on 5 Jun
SailGP: Media Conference concludes in New York
The media conference ahead of the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix has concluded, without any speci The media conference ahead of the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix has concluded, without any special points being revealed, save for Brazil lending a crew member to Germany.
Posted on 5 Jun
2.4mR Toulon Regatta
Glorious racing in the Cote D'Azur Now a contender for the premier event in this year's 2.4mR calendar, this has got to be the highlight of the year!
Posted on 5 Jun
A decade of pushing the boundaries at A+T
Celebrating 10 years of the world's best yacht instruments 2025 marks a decade of pushing the boundaries of quality and customer service in the global yachting industry for A+T Instruments.
Posted on 5 Jun
Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds Take the Helm
As Co-Owners of the 'BONDS Flying Roos' Australia's SailGP Team Today Australia's three-time SailGP champions have unveiled a new identity as well as two new co-owners - Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds - who join Driver and CEO Tom Slingsby in leading the freshly rebranded BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team.
Posted on 5 Jun
Should SailGP ditch the wings?
As SailGP resumes in New York this weekend, we ask the question As SailGP resumes in New York this weekend, we ask the question of whether the F50's solid wingsails should be ditched and replaced instead with twin-skin mainsails, in a similar way to what is used on the AC75 and AC40 of the America's Cup.
Posted on 5 Jun