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IT’S a sight all too familiar for re-appointed Riviera CEO Wes Moxey (pictured with Rodney Longhurst) as jobs were yesterday scuttled in a capital restructure under new owner Longhurst Marine Holdings.
His return to the embattled luxury boat builder was bitter-sweet as the company was acquired in a leasehold deal by Rodney Longhurst, the son of Dreamworld developer John Longhurst.
Formerly the CEO of Riviera and a veteran of 26 years with the company, Moxey had taken a 12-month sabbatical from the boating industry. His successor was John Anderson, who stepped down last year and was not replaced until yesterday.
The deal ends months of speculation over its buyer with Riviera founder and Maritimo boss Bill Barry Cotter touted as a bidder, while it is also understood Chinese investors were being courted.
Moxey had spent the past 18 months immersed in the development of a new line of limited edition Motoryachts called Belize.
“Riviera has been a very large and influential part of my life and that of my family’s. I am refreshed from my sabbatical and wiser from the lessons learnt in developing the Belize Motoryacht line from scratch with our own capital. I am thrilled with this opportunity and ready and eager to help lead our great team forward,” he says.
Longhurst Marine Holdings has also entered into a long-term lease for Riviera’s 14-hectare state-of the-art Coomera manufacturing facility.
The company already has a significant investment in the boating industry, namely the 9.2-hectare marine service facility known as The Boat Works on the Coomera River within the Gold Coast Marine Precinct.
“I have watched how the Riviera luxury boat brand has so emphatically endured the last four years of turbulent economic conditions,” he says.
“For the past two years and nine months the company has operated in receivership and during this period, local and international competition has also been particularly fierce. Yet throughout this unprecedented cycle, the Riviera brand has retained its integrity and defied industry trends achieving significant results with new model releases and sales.”
Riviera will now move through a restructure and recapitalisation process to prepare the company for future growth opportunities.
Part of the process will be creating a new senior management team to drive the business forward.
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