Guymarine in receivership
On September 26, 2023, the Commercial Court of La Rochelle declared Guymarine in receivership. The Château d'Oléron-based shipyard was declared insolvent on August 1, 2023. With the demise of the Charente-based builder of motorized pleasure boats, it's the end of an adventure and of a brand recognized in the world of amateur fishing. The company had been struggling for several years to get back on its feet, although various attempts had been made, most recently with the acquisition of the Pro-Marine RIB brand from the Ouest Composites group. We were unable to contact management to discuss the potential future of the shipyard's assets.
The know-how of the Ocqueteau family
Founded in 1983 by Patrice Ocqueteau and his father Guy Ocqueteau, the brand's name Guymarine is a tribute to his expertise. The Ocqueteau name was already well known in the yachting industry, the eponymous shipyard having existed since the 1950s and sold to Jeanneau in the 1980s, before going through a number of different lives. Hulls and fittings for pleasure fishing have made Guymarine a local reference in the pleasure-fishing helmsman sector, with its Antioche series, named after the inlet to the north of the Ile d'Oléron.
Takeovers and associations
After a flourishing 1990s, the company went through a number of difficult years and several changes of ownership. In 2007, the Ocqueteau family sold the company to François Gallant. In 2013, Guymarine joins the Fineloc group, which rents out trucks with drivers and soon afterwards makes White Shark motorboats. Grouped under the Mains de Marins entity, the shipyards went into receivership in 2015. Nicolas Chiloff, the last owner, took them over in 2016. He attempts to relaunch the brands and banks on export potential. His strategy evolves, and he sells White Shark to French Boat Market in 2020, but does not lower his ambitions, taking over Pro-Marine RIBs in 2021. Despite all these attempts, Guymarine will cease trading in 2023.
