Bavaria in self-administration, production to continue as normal

In accordance with the application of the Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH, the district court of Würzburg yesterday ordered provisional self-administration. Dr. Hubert Ampferl of the law firm Dr. Beck & Partner has been appointed interim administrator.

•   Self-administration means: executive management has full legal authority
•  Wages and salaries will be secured until June 2018 using insolvency compensation 
•  Restructuring expert Dr. Tobias Brinkmann from Brinkmann & Partner joins executive management
• The goal of the process is to implement an investor solution.

The shipyard operations will continue seamlessly over the next few months. The delivery season is currently in full swing, so that it will be possible to process a large order backlog over the coming months. “In the current situation, we will continue to provide our customers with the customary high quality,” says Erik Appel, COO. The existing executive management is being expanded to include Dr. Tobias Brinkmann, a specialist insolvency lawyer and partner in the national law firm Brinkmann & Partner. He has extensive experience of reorganising shipyards. The previous CEO, Lutz Henkel, left the executive management last week.

The top priority is now to search for an investor. “We have many years of experience building high-quality yachts and are industry leaders in technology in many areas,” says Appel. Against the background of the good market positioning, the company is seeking to address both strategic as well as financial investors. The procedure is intended to put operations on a sound financial footing.

The first operational restructuring steps, such as the introduction of clear organisational structures in production, have already been implemented. These activities will be continued consistently.

Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH was founded in 1978 and is among the market leaders in European yacht building. Payment of wages and salaries for the months of April to June 2018 will be secured by insolvency compensation. The some 600 employees have been informed in detail.

The petition for insolvency refers exclusively to the Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH. The French subsidiary Bavaria Catamarans SAS in Rochefort will continue to operate as normal.