Administrative receivers were called in yesterday to UK sailing cruiser builder Rival Bowman, marking yet another blow for the British series-building sailboat industry. Rival Bowman, which is headquartered in Ocean Quay, Southampton, was founded in 1965 and builds the Bowman range of sailing cruisers from 42-48ft and the Starlight range from 35-46ft.

Rival follows the demise of Westerly, once one of Europe’s largest production sailboat builders, in May last year. More recently, in September Prout Catamarans was liquidated to be replaced by Prout UK, which now builds the Prout range of sailing cruisers and Panther powercats. More than their powerboat building counterparts, UK series sailboat builders have suffered from the strength of sterling against Euro-tied currencies and from domestic market competition from French, US and German builders.

The company now administering Rival Bowman’s affairs is PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Rival Bowman was unavailable for comment this morning, but more details are expected to be revealed shortly. IBI will report as soon as this news breaks.