Sealine brand ceases trading after 40 years of building luxury cruisers

British boat builder Sealine ceased trading after filing for bankruptcy in May 2013. Sealine had been trading for over 40 years and had been one of the leading British boat brands since Tom Murrant founded the company in 1978. Tom Murrant had started building boats six years before working on the Continental range.

The Sealine brand and company have been through two ownership changes in the past decade, from boat-building giant Brunswick who bought them in 2001, to US investment group, Oxford two years ago.

The Brunswick acquisition never seemed to work well with Sealine and always restricted the brand to European sales alone, in a time when Euro design in boats was an attractive alternative in the US and Asia.   Oxford Investment Group had little time in which to turn things around in very difficult European economic conditions.

The news of Sealine has raised questions from the British boat-building industry over concerns about trading outside of Europe competitively. This is based on current government policies surrounding visa entry for overseas prospective buyers which is crucial for the stability of luxury British boat brands during difficult European economic conditions.