Article modified on 24/07
Liquidation of the Espace Vag site
The news fell on Friday, July 19, 2019 late in the day. The shipyard Espace Vag, builder in Concarneau of Ikone pleasure sailboats and repairer of small fishing boats, is subject to a judicial liquidation procedure without activity. The company, which employed a dozen employees, will close its doors for good on August 9, 2019.
The shipyard says it is the victim of an unpaid bill on a sailboat
According to James Simon, who took over the company in 2018, Espace Vag, founded in 1989, will not have survived an unpaid bill. "What happened to us is unfortunately classic in SMEs. We suffered a large unpaid bill in early April following the delivery of an Ikone 7.50, which unbalanced our cash flow. A legal procedure is underway on the subject and I can't tell you more. This happened at the worst possible moment, as we were launching the production of the new Ikone 6.50, with a strong mobilization of cash. The banks supported us at first, but when they saw that there would be no quick settlement, they preferred to stop," explains James Simon.
A client who questions the construction site
Not having the role of maritime expert and a legal procedure being in progress, BoatIndustry cannot take sides on the current case. Contacted by the customer of the Ikone 7.50 quoted by Mr. Simon, she indicated to us to question the quality of construction of the boat, through various defects, some of which are structurally important.
An ambitious buyer
If the different judicial process could have been the trigger, the immediate liquidation without prior judicial recovery questions the fragility of the company. During his first meetings with BoatIndustry in 2018, the new buyer displayed high ambitions, probably far from the realities of the niche nautical market in which Espace Vag evolved. James Simon announced the creation of an in-house design office, the objective of going from 15 to 20 boats per year. He was aiming for a 90% export turnover within 3 to 4 years. "When I arrived, I took over a company in difficulty. I re-injected funds into it. The Ikone 6.50 project was the only way to relaunch the shipyard," explains the manager.
The saga of the Ikone 6.50
If it is not the reason for the liquidation of the shipyard, the last sailboat launched by Espace Vag, the Ikone 6.50 had fueled concerns. Designed with naval architects Frédéric Neumann and Christophe Barreau, the boat was to mark a turning point for the company . "This is the first boat from Ikone that is fully digitized, the hull and deck molds, but also the interior layout. The Ikone 6.50 is also the first of our boats made in infusion from the 1st unit. " said James Simon in October 2018. But the new boat has been racking up delays. Announced for the 2018 fall shows, its presentation was always delayed, with the shipyard citing supplier issues. It finally hit the water in early summer 2019. This last sailboat unfortunately puts an end to a beautiful 30-year saga for a SME that had created a beautiful notoriety, especially around its catboats.
