Debts of more than £600,000 are likely to remain unpaid after the collapse of a Plymouth boat refit company set up by two former Princess Yachts employees.

Yacht Solutions Europe Ltd, based at Turnchapel Wharf, has gone into liquidation after facing tough trading and cash flow problems.

The company carried out a huge range of yacht refit and repair, with services including engineering, retrofitting, carpentry, upholstery and upgrades.

It worked on projects worldwide and opened a base in Florida, USA, in 2023. It described itself as “a tightknit small business started by two craftsmen to provide the best quality of work and service to the luxury yachting industry”.

The company was set up by Paul Eccles and Dave Watson in 2021 after the collapse of a previous business, Yacht Solutions Worldwide Ltd, which sold its assets to Yacht Solutions Europe in a pre-pack deal and was dissolved in 2024 leaving debts of more than £282,000 unpaid.

Now Yacht Solutions Europe Ltd has entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation and documents filed at companies house show it has assets of about £18,000 which will be used to pay nine employees and the pension scheme but leave less than £1,000 for other creditors.

These include more than £176,000 owed to HM Revenue and Customs, nearly £85,000 owed to one lender, about £160,000 owed to six other banks and institutions – and £82,500 owed to workers as unsecured creditors.

There are 21 trade creditors claiming a combined £34,700, and the American arm Yacht Solutions USA is claiming £71,000.

In total, the company’s statement of affairs reveals that an estimated £608,522 will end up being unpaid.

Steve Henson, managing director at Devon’s Castle Hill Insolvency, has been appointed joint-liquidator.

He told PlymouthLive that Yacht Solutions Europe Ltd had entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation “following a period of trading and cash flow challenges”.

He will be carrying out an independent review or full investigation into the company’s financial affairs and the underlying causes of its insolvency.

Mr Henson said: “We will now begin the statutory process, which includes realising the company’s assets and reviewing its affairs, and will report to creditors in due course. “Employees are able to access support through the Redundancy Payments Service where applicable.

“We appreciate that this is a difficult situation for those affected, including employees, creditors and other stakeholders, and further updates will be provided in due course.”

The ancestor company Yacht Solutions Worldwide was incorporated in April 2018 after Mr Eccles and Mr Watson left Princess Yachts, which continued to provide most of its work.

Yacht Solutions Worldwide also specialised in retrofitting yachts in this country and internationally but found itself in financial difficulties with a “significant debt” owed to HM Revenue and Customs when the Covid-19 pandemic hindered its ability to undertake work.

Because there wasn’t enough money to continue trading, including significant staff costs, the directors went for a “pre-pack” style liquidation.

In 2021, Mr Watson and Mr Eccles said they were confident the new company would be a success because it had strong contracts with Princess Yachts and was diversifying the business.

Last year, Mr Watson and Mr Eccles told Invest Plymouth that the Yacht Solutions’ repair service was important, especially during the winter and that they had plans for the business, in Plymouth and the US, and hoped to strengthen and grow the client base and team “to bring as many of the big yacht brands to Plymouth as possible”.

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