The London Gazette has received notification that joint liquidators have been appointed for Ribcraft Limited. According to the note, publicly available on the gazette’s website (which carries official, legal, and state notices that are often required by law to give formal notice to the public), the company has been wound up voluntarily.
The notice, signed by Toby Adams, director, was dated 22 October 2026, while joint liquidators were appointed on 21 October 2026 (specifically Neil Vinnicombe and Paul Wood, partners at financial and real estate advisory group BTG – Begbies Traynor Group). Adams was listed on LinkedIn as executive chairman for Ribcraft Limited at time of writing.
Confirming the public record with MIN, BTG notes that Ribcraft Limited, based in Yeovil, Somerset, will now go through a process of an orderly wind down.
BTG’s spokesperson says that Ribcraft Limited’s directors gave reasons for the liquidation as difficulties to generate sales revenues, an unsustainable cost base, operational inefficiencies and reluctance to commit further funds by shareholders.
While BTG has been appointed to Ribcraft Limited, and notes it cannot comment on other businesses (specifically about other Ribcraft Group operations), its spokesperson says: “We will be making enquiries into the assets of the company.
“As part of the orderly wind-down, remaining assets are usually sold as part of seeking the best return for creditors.”
Once the assets have been gathered, “details will be contained in the liquidators’ report to creditors when complete, as part of the notification to creditors.”
Those who require further information should contact the liquidators on 0117 937 7130, or email Penny Hitch.
BTG’s appointment relates only to Ribcraft Limited. MIN has no information to suggest that Ribcraft Group’s overseas operations or licensed partners are insolvent.
New owner planned expansion
In 2020, UK-entrepreneur Adams acquired the Yeovil-based manufacturer. The company’s website says he was first been introduced to Ribcraft Limited in 2009 through Yellow Boats – a tourist business which used its RIBs – and subsequently invested in a licence to manufacture Ribcraft boats in the United Arab Emirates prior to purchasing the UK manufacturing business. At the time of the acquisition, Adams outlined plans to expand the Yeovil factory, strengthen aftersales support and pursue further government and military contracts.
The company built RIBs for leisure, commercial and military applications, with its 2020 product range spanning 4.2 to 18m.
Its boats have been used by police, the military and other emergency response teams worldwide. It also beat competition from 29 other firms to make 64 rescue boats for the London Olympics – to patrol the Thames and other waters during the events.
In June 2023, Ribcraft Limited announced it was launching a new range of high-end leisure RIBs and establishing a new global dealer network. The range initially comprised three RIB models; 3.5, 5.85 and 9.5m with a new level of leisure features, deck layouts and fit-out.
Eighteen employees made redundant
Staff were told they were losing their jobs at Ribcraft Limited in August 2026. A communication from Adams, seen by MIN, sent on 28 August says that ‘the company is not in a position to continue trading’. It continues: ‘It is necessary to bring the trading activity to the company to an immediate close, save for activities required to complete a small number of essential projects.’
Contracts of employment were terminated that day. BTG confirms that: “Unfortunately, 18 employees were made redundant with two others having handed in their notice prior to liquidation.”
Companies House records
“The company entered liquidation on 21 October 2026. The required notices have been sent to Companies House and the register will be updated by Companies House in due course,” concludes BTG.
Customers seeking answers
Duncan McConchie’s a trustee for Fleet Bay Inshore Rescue Service. His father – along with other community members – started the service in 1974; the lifeboat relies on community support. But, in 2023, the coastguard stopped taskings because the then boat didn’t conform to the rescue boat code.
In 2025, two people died in the bay. There was what McConchie describes as “a huge community uprising” to help raise £150k to buy a new boat, to do up the boathouse and buy a launch vehicle. Because of the area’s rocky coastline, Fleet Bay needed a small boat – 5.3 metres – to access areas larger craft couldn’t.
“The only company we could find that would do that was Ribcraft,” he says. He was ‘blown-away’ by the offer, and an agreement of four staged payments was put into place, dependent on drawings, molding etc. The money started moving late in December 2025.
But, things started to go amiss as timelines slipped. After reaching out to the company’s executives, McConchie says the hull was started in around April 2026.
As delays continued, Fleet Bay had paid £63,000, three quarters of the agreed price. McConchie says the trust became concerned that the payments were not being reflected in progress on the build, and in July it arranged for the hull to be collected by a different boatbuilder (which added the collar). Since then it’s been taken North for wiring, coding assessment and sea trials and should be on the water by Christmas 2026.
McConchie says other organisations have also paid deposits for boats that have not been delivered. MIN has reached out to other organisations but at time of publication has not received comment.
Private Eye reports that a coastal search unit in Ireland, paid Ribcraft £96,000 towards a replacement for its 25-year-old boat, and that the vessel was not completed. The publication also mentions another search and rescue unit that paid £50,000 in down payments and received an unfinished boat. Its reporting continues with an account of a leisure customer who said they were asked to pay suppliers directly for parts.
MIN has contacted Ribcraft Limited and Ribcraft Group for comment. There was no response by the time of publication. BTG says it can’t comment on matters relating to the company’s trading before its appointment – including matters relating to unfinished boats.
New CEO for wider group
Ribcraft Group announced the appointment of Mike Jones as group CEO in August 2026, with a remit to lead the next phase of Ribcraft’s growth, focusing on operational excellence, international expansion, strategic partnerships and delivering value for customers across the defence, security and professional maritime sectors. A company statement said: ‘This appointment represents another important milestone in Ribcraft’s evolution as we continue to invest in the future of the business and support our customers around the world.’
Ribcraft Limited’s history
The company’s LinkedIn profile details parent, Ribcraft Group, is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The group’s operating model combines a core manufacturing, and maritime engineering hub with global support centres and licensed partners across Australia, India, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.
Companies House records the incorporation of R.I.B. Craft Limited on 25 January 1993, with the company changing its name to Ribcraft Limited in April 2002. (A 2020 acquisition announcement describes the business as having been founded in the late 1980s, while Ribcraft Limited’s current website gives 1993 as its founding year).
Companies House records show that on 2 December 2025 Ribcraft Holdings Limited, registered in Abu Dhabi Global Market, replaced Ribcraft (Holdings) Limited as the person with significant control.
International manufacturing
Ribcraft Group’s international manufacturing network includes operations in India and Australia. In India, the company’s established a manufacturing facility with local partner Brilliant Seagull Pvt Ltd through the joint venture Ribcraft India Pvt Ltd. The Indian operation is headquartered in Mumbai, with production in Porbandar, Gujarat. Manufacturing technology and know-how were transferred from the UK and UAE.
In January 2025, Ribcraft Australia partnered with Edencraft International to begin local production of custom-built RIBs at Edencraft’s facility in Moolap, Geelong, Victoria. The partnership was announced as a means of supplying defence, government and commercial customers, with potential to serve export markets across the Asia-Pacific region.
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