Maritimo buys Australian boat brand Caribbean as it ramps up expansion plans

Gold Coast luxury motor yacht builder Maritimo has bought a renowned Australian boat brand to take it through the next wave of its expansion in the luxury and offshore boating industry

Bill Barry-Cotter at the launch of Maritimo M75.

Gold-Coast motor yacht powerhouse Maritimo has snapped up iconic Australian boat brand Caribbean, strengthening its expansion into the luxury and offshore boating industry.

The family company started manufacturing in Melbourne in 1958 and over that time has built well over 50,000 boats across many brands including Columbia Yachts, Pride Sports Boats, Bertram and Caribbean.

Carribberan was founded by Tom Piper canned food entrepreneur Arch Spooner and produces robust bluewater vessels which are sold through dealerships across Australia and overseas.

The Caribbean C40-Flybride Cruiser on the water.

Maritimo intends to conduct a comprehensive review of Caribbean’s product line, with further details on the brand’s next chapter to be revealed in due course.

Maritimo founder Bill Barry-Cotter says Caribbean is a cherished name in Australian boating, with a rich history of building some of the country’s most enduring and capable vessels.

“We’re excited about the potential this acquisition brings and look forward to shaping the next phase of Caribbean’s journey,” he says.

New puzzle

The jigsaw pieces for the merger between two Queensland government-owned corporations that handle billions of dollars of public money may be coming together.

A new head of the Queensland Treasury Corporation Simon Ling replaces Leon Allen who was closely aligned to state Labor and was moved on by the new government earlier this year.

The kicker is that Ling was previously at executive at NSW TCorp (or NSW Treasury Corporation) which was the central borrowing authority of the NSW government and recently underwent a restructure.

His appointment is adding to the speculation that the government is considering the option to merge QTC and Queensland Investment Corporation in a similar move made by the NSW Liberal government in 2015.

New QTC chief executive Simon Ling.

Back then, TCorp merged with the SAS Trustee Corporation and Insurance and Care NSW to form a larger entity with over $72bn in assets under management.

Ling joined NSW TCorp in 2019 – well after the merger – but will have known the ins and outs of the process and was responsible for overseeing its financial markets business in his new job. Ling will start with the QTC on July 1. Watch this space.

Bullseye

A US breeder has purchased the exclusive American semen rights for the current Australian record price Santa Gertrudis bull Yarrawonga Spartacus S316 (P), owned by NIOA Santa Gertrudis and RL Pastoral Company.

The landmark deal will see Yarrawonga Spartacus’ bloodlines incorporated into Texas-based Ellis Pastures’ breeding program.

NIOA Santa Gertrudis is a Southern Downs stud owned by the Nioa family, whose patriarch Rob is behind global munition company NIOA Group.

Yarrawonga Spartacus – at home at NIOA Santa Gertrudis stud in the Southern Downs – set a New Australian record price for the breed when he was purchased in 2022.

The stud deal, brokered by NIOA’s partner RL Pastoral Co’s Rob Sinnamon(illustrated) for an undisclosed six-figure sum, has been described as a game changer for the US Santa Gertrudis industry.

Spartacus was introduced to the Allora-based NIOA stud’s sire battery in November 2022 after they paid an Australian record breed price of $250,000 at the Bassingthwaighte family’s Yarrawonga Santa Gertrudis annual sale. He is the grandson of 2014 Brisbane Ekka Grand Champion Yarrawonga Corvette.

“Spartacus represents the modern-day Santa Gertrudis bull,” Sinnamon says.

“To be selling genetics in an American breed back to American breeders demonstrates just how exceptional this bull is.”

Originally published as Maritimo buys Australian boat brand Caribbean as it ramps up expansion plans