Hargrave seeks ‘money partner’ in 2019

Jan 9, 2019 by Triton Staff

Michael Joyce, owner of Fort Lauderdale-based Colonial Yacht Sales, has announced plans to “spin off” Hargrave Custom Yachts into a standalone corporation in 2019.

The Hargrave company, founded in 1957 by designer Jack Hargrave, is owned by the Joyce family trust and, according to a company statement, the trust will retain 50 percent ownership of the new corporation. This is contrary to recent news reports indicating that Hargrave Custom Yachts would be sold, Joyce said in the statement.

“The company is not for sale but will be looking to take in a money partner in 2019,” Joyce stated. “Being a small family-run business was a big advantage for the first 20 years of our history but now is the right time to change our business model. It’s becoming obvious when you look at the nonstop consolidation going on in the boating industry that in today’s world you either go big or go home.”

The newest Hargrave model, the G-120, built for the Galati sales organization, is loaded for shipment Jan. 7 at the Kha Shing yard in Southern Taiwan.

The company has been building yachts under the Hargrave brand since 1987, and will deliver its largest yacht to date with the launch in Turkey this spring of a 184-foot superyacht. According to the company, Hargrave has more than 1,000 feet of new yachts under construction, valued in excess of $100 million.

“The size of our yachts was already increasing in both length and dollar amount, and now with the new alliance with the Galati Yacht Sales organization it’s pushing Hargrave to the next level,” Joyce stated.

Hargrave President Mike DiCondina will continue to direct the company, Joyce said, and the goal is for DiCondina and his team to work alongside a new partner to continue to grow it.

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