Rescue For RM Yachts

Table of contents:

Shortly before Christmas 2019, the ForMarine shipyard in LRochelle had to file for bankruptcy with the well-known RM Yachts brand. The debt burden for the medium-sized company was apparently no longer sustainable. For the time being, the business was continued by a legal representative, but the focus in production was on pending completions. Many of the 45 employees had to stay at home with uncertain prospects.

Now they can breathe a sigh of relief: The Grand Large Yachting group, based in Tourlaville near Cherbourg, will take over the shipyard and brand rights from RM Yachts and restart production of RM yachts. In addition to Grand Large Yachting, a second group led by the previous RM Maxime Védrenne product manager has also submitted a handover offer. On Thursday morning, the business court in Bordeaux finally decided: Grand Large will be awarded the contract.

Grand Large Yachting is the fourth largest group of companies in the nautical sector in France, after Beneteau, Fountaine Pajot and the Catana Group. The Grand Large includes the brands Allures and Garcia, which build ocean-going blue water yachts from aluminum. The group also includes the brands Outremer and Gunboat with their upscale, sporty catamarans. Grand Large was founded in 2003 by Stéphane Constance and Xavier Desmarest and today has several production sites in Normandy, on the French Atlantic coast and on the Mediterranean.

It should be interesting how and in what form Grand Large Yachting places the RM Yachts brand in its extensive, but also more niche-oriented portfolio. RM Yachts is known for its unusual construction with hulls made of plywood and decks made of GRP. With the new RM 1180, the yacht builders in LRochelle made a highly acclaimed and promising start to a new generation of models last year. The YACHT presented the exciting boat in the test in issue 20/2019.