Broom's recovery after the troubles of last year

In September of last year the Brundall based CJ Broom and Son became insolvent due to less boat sales, resulting in a loss of more than one million pounds. Because of these troubles 70 employees had to be laid off. However the other departments of Broom boats (brokerage, repairs, marina, refurbishment and waterside diesel) were not affected by the loss.

Just under a year later and things seem to be picking up for this department; soon after the initial lay off 30 workers were able to be reinstated due to a new demand for Broom boats (it has been suggested this is due to the newly appointed brokers at this time) and over the last 12 months they have been able to take on another 20 people. The managing director of Broom, Mark Garner, said that things were going so well now that they are consistently looking for one or two workers per week.  He credited this to the demand for Broom boats for sale slowly growing and rebuilding. 

It is good to see Broom getting back to its normal status after the difficulties of last year. And hopefully with the recent launch of the new Broom 455 and Broom 370 models, the demand for Broom will only continue to grow from this point.

The best place to find Broom Boats for Sale...

Regardless of whether your are looking for used broom boats, or new broom boats for sale - there are a few main brokers that you should be aware of.  While you might make your decision based on location, it's worth being aware of the different options out there.

For those of you on the Emerald Isle, your nearest broker is Portumna Marina, which is located in Co Galway, Ireland.  One of the limitations of Portumna Marina is they to not have an extensive range of Broom Models. Nevertheless they boast an award winning sales team.

In the UK, there are four main brokers.  These consist of Bray Marine in Berkshire, Newark Marina in Nottinghamshire, Norfolk Yacht Agency in Norfolk and Transworld Yachts Sailing in Hampshire.  Out of all four, the Norfolk Yacht Agency (NYA) has the advantage of being based next to Broom Boats, in the Brundall Marina in Norfolk. 

For those of you on the continent, the only main agent is De Varrt Yatching Ltd, in Holland.  They also cover Germany and Belgium.

The great services Broom offers

We are all aware of the relentless standards and quality that Broom provides, however you may not be so familiar with the many various services the company offers. They keep adding to their sight and boatyard in Brundall Norfolk, to ever offer more. One of these recent additions is that they now carry out all moldings and developments on sight; this means that practically the entirety of the boat building and finishing processes is happening under one roof, so there is probably more cohesion and flow to the build. They also do maintenance and repairs on sight, so you can take your Broom boat right back to the people who created it and they will repair it. Another recent acquisition to Broom’s sight is G H fabrications (of stainless steel). If you want to specialise the interior of your Broom boat you can talk to their interior design department about the different options such as fabrics etc.

There are many factors that make Broom Boats stand out. It in not surprising, then, that they have such a long and successful history. As many Broom owner will tell you, buying a broom boat is an investment into luxury, quality and in an asset that holds it's value well.

If you are interested in finding good places that have Broom Boats for sale - I recommend reading my recent post on the subject.

 

Broom boats new management and the changes it’s brought

In July 2010 Martin and Jennifer Broom announced that they were handing over management of Broom boats which had been a family owner company for over 112 years. But Martin Broom has stayed on in a presidential position. Despite speculative reasons for this change being due to none of the next Broom generation wanting to take over and the difficult financial circumstances Mr Broom said this at the time “I am delighted to announce these changes. In this difficult climate and complex world, it is vital that the business has the best management team in place and I am confident the changes made will provide the business with the best possible opportunity to be successful in the future”. Mark Garner and Akis Chrisovelides are the two business men based in Norfolk who took over management and became chairman and managing director. They had previously revived another Norfolk based business that was having problems; UK fire, so were a wise choice. Just six weeks after taking over management they stopped building boats for the purpose of major financial re-organisation. In October 2010, thankfully, the building of Broom boats restarted. The new dealer network and the sales it produced were accredited with the company’s ability to re-employ some of its past boat building craftsmen. The new dealer network added to new firms the Norfolk Yacht Agency and Thames Boat Sales of Bray. The network now means that you can no longer buy directly through Broom but must go through one of their dealers. At this time it was also made known that there was a new major investor in the company; an entrepreneur, Tony Chancellor of Norfolk. Changes Mr Garner has talked about is extending the ranges (making both larger and smaller boats than Broom has offered before) and also maybe going back to the companies roots and hiring boats for exploring the Norfolk Broads. One of the noticeable changes that the new management has made is the facelift to the interiors to try and make them more modern.

The Best Broom Boat Brokers for your preferences

Whether you are looking for used or new Broom boats for sale, there are a few well known and trusted dealers, all of which offer part exchange making it easier and more affordable for you to buy your ideal Broom boat.  Of course where you buy your boat from is probably going to be based predominantly upon where you live closest to but it is worth noting that the various broom boat brokers all offer slightly differing services and advantages, so it can not hurt to be a little better informed. Portumna Marina is located in Co Galway, Ireland; they offer only a few of the models in the Broom range but they have won awards for their record breaking sales of Broom boats and have the largest spray booth in Ireland and also have an artwork shop. So if you are looking for great salesmanship and opportunities to personalise your boat this is the Broom broker for you. Another option is Newark Marina in Nottinghamshire, the only new boats it sells are Broom but they also specialise in Volvo engines. There are many other Broom brokers around the UK and Europe, visit their website for details.

Brooms Boats Rich History

Broom Boats are now renowned for creating top quality aft cabin cruisers; some many even claim they are the best at what they do. In all fairness to them this is a boat type they have been perfecting over the last 40 years and they have been crafting boats since the company was founded in 1898 by Charles J Broom.  Originally Broom boats created, sold and rented sailing boats for exploring the Norfolk broads, a beautiful location where the company is actually still based. Some of its most interesting and credible points of Brooms historical story is that in the 1920’s Broom boats were one of the first to put internal combustion engines in boats and during the Second World War they contributed by built boats for the British Navy. The nice thing about this company is it has never lost its sense of tradition and high standards. It has been a family run business for most of the company’s life, though there has been a change in management in 2010 members of the Broom family have stayed on as an integral part of the company even if they are not in charge. This change shows a nice compromise between all Broom’s heritage and its ability to continue to strive to be innovative and cutting edge. There are few boat companies that can compete with Brooms incredible long standing history and contribution to the boating world.