Eddie Jordan joins board of English yacht firm
EDDIE Jordan, t he f ounder of the Jordan Grand Prix Formula One motor racing team, has joined the board of Oyster Yachts, a yacht maker on the south coast of England.
Mr Jordan, an avid sailor who owns the largest model that the firm makes, an Oyster 885 named Lush, has been appointed to the board of the business by gaming entrepreneur Richard Hadida, a sailing companion.
Mr Hadida, who co-founded Evolution Gaming, bought the Southampton and Norfolk-based business after it went into administration last month.
Its previous Dutch backers, HTP Investment, had decided not to continue financially supporting the business.
It’s understood that Mr Hadida plans to rehire most of the company’s workforce, believed to be about 400 staff.
The firm is believed to have an order book of around €100m and over 20 yachts currently being built. It is aiming to fulfil orders for the new model, the 118ft Oyster 118 that can accommodate up to 10 people and five crew, while also looking at making smaller ones.
“We are looking, with design partner Rob Humphreys, who is integral to this, at a couple of 40-something footers in the range, possibly a super high quality 42, because there is an enormous market there,” said Mr Hadida. “They would have all the mod cons and the hull seascape windows that Oyster is famous for. I got close to Eddie Jordan and have done lots of sailing with him on Lush, probably 40 days a year in the last two years. I looked at buying myself and we looked at bigger boats, but none matched up to Lush. I heard about what was happening when I was on holiday with Eddie and I felt it was my calling.”