Chapter 82: Don't Treat Me as God

Robert Blythewhite, chairman of Sunseeker Yachts, and Stewart McEntire, CEO, were both surprised when they saw Yang Huan for the first time because he was so young.

Is this the Chinese big money sponsor who just acquired Southampton and spent huge sums of money to introduce super center forward Ibrahimovic?

He looks to be only around twenty years old. Does he really have such great abilities?

Yang Huan had just stepped out of a Rolls-Royce and walked onto a highway bridge accompanied by Cash Harris.

Under the bridge is a backwater channel connecting Upton Lake and the English Channel.

The shipbuilding factory of Sunseeker Yacht Company is located on the east bank of the backwater channel. Standing on the bridge, you can have a panoramic view of everything outside the factory.

"Old, too old!" Yang Huan shook his head.

The entire Shengxi Shipyard looks like an old factory building from decades ago, only about the size of two or three football fields. On the backwater channel outside, there are a few yachts and some ship molds docked sparsely.

At least, this yacht company is definitely not as glamorous as what you see in newspapers or magazines.

On the contrary, Yang Huan's first impression of it was that it was old and outdated.

"It has been 32 years since our factory was established. We still retain everything from those days, including the boat molds of every yacht we produced. These are our treasures."

The white-haired Robert Blythewhite walked onto the highway bridge and came to Yang Huan and Cash Harris.

Long Wu seemed to realize that they were not in danger, so he just glanced at the two of them and continued playing the game.

"Moreover, yacht building, especially luxury yacht building, is different from other industries in that almost everything is handmade, so modern equipment for standardized production is basically not used. The factory is relatively simple and does not require too many mechanical equipment and production lines."

This could explain why the Sunseeker Yacht Company paid so little attention to its factories and offices.

But in Yang Huan's opinion, this explanation is not feasible. It all comes down to one sentence: there is no money.

If there is money, who wouldn't want to make the factory better and provide workers with a better working environment?

In fact, it was only after arriving in the UK that Yang Huan truly felt the helplessness and sadness of the declining empire. Even the east, south and north of London were basically still stuck in the era of decades or even hundreds of years ago.

Including buildings, factories, and even people.

This is a retro style that seems hopeless and out of date.

"Hello, I'm Robert Blythewhite, the chairman of Sunseeker Yachts." The white-haired old man stretched out his hand to Yang Huan. After shaking hands, he pointed to another white-haired old man beside him and said, "This is our CEO, Stewart McEntire."

After Yang Huan and Cash Harris shook hands with them one after another, Yang Huan proposed to go to the factory to see his yacht.

Zhang Ning had had contact with Shengxi Yacht before, and the other party also knew that the yacht originally belonged to John Hunter, but has now been transferred to Yang Huan's name.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Yang Huan, your yacht is still in the modeling stage." McEntire said apologetically.

"Modeling?"

"It's like this. The manufacture of a yacht requires a set of molds, and the molds can be ready-made or customized. If it is a ready-made mold, it is relatively simple and the construction progress is relatively fast. That's why I say that the sets of molds are our greatest treasure, because there are more choices for customers."

"But some people pursue personalization, so they need customized molds. It usually takes one or two months to make a set of molds, and usually this personalized mold may only be used once, so the price of a personalized yacht is high, and a set of boat molds accounts for one-third of the price."

After hearing what McEntire said, Yang Huan began to understand the twists and turns involved.

"Then how long will it take for my yacht to be delivered?" This is what Yang Huan is most concerned about.

He had just had a very unpleasant experience with Aston Martin, and he didn't want to have any problems on the Sunseeker yacht again.

After hearing Yang Huan's question, McEntire and Bryce White looked at each other, both of them were embarrassed and couldn't give a specific answer. In the end, McEntire smiled bitterly and said, "We can't guarantee this either."

"Why?" Yang Huan was puzzled. Why were they all like this?

Isn’t it said that the customer is God?

Now that God has paid the money first, you who serve God are acting like big shots?

Do you really think God won’t get angry?

Or do you not regard me as God at all?

McEntire couldn't say anything, Bryce White thought about it and walked forward.

"Mr. Yang Huan, to be honest, we are in trouble."

"Trouble?" Yang Huan was a little puzzled.

The Sunseeker yacht is known as the Rolls-Royce of the sea. Could they also get into trouble?

Bryce White took a deep breath. He was powerless and could only seek help from outside.

"In fact, we have a bank debt of 20 million pounds that is due, but we are unable to withdraw funds to repay it for the time being, so we are currently considering accepting an acquisition by an Irish private equity company."

McEntire was afraid that Yang Huan would be angry, so he added, "But we can guarantee that we will complete the construction of this yacht in the shortest possible time and deliver it as soon as possible."

Private equity firms are actually similar to private equity funds. The difference is that they do not invest in the stock market. Instead, they specialize in buying and selling companies and earning huge price differences to make profits, which can sometimes even be several times the amount.

However, companies that are usually acquired by private equity firms basically cannot escape the fate of restructuring and breakup.

It seems that the Shengxi Yacht is really at its wit's end!

Yang Huan shook his head, and couldn't help but think of what Cash Harris had said in the car just now.

For these world-renowned luxury goods, the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis and the European debt crisis has caused them to temporarily fall into a trough, but as long as they can survive the difficult period of the financial crisis, they will soon return to the ranks of world luxury goods.

Because in this world, there will always be people who tirelessly pursue the highest-end luxury goods.

Cash Harris, who was standing by, saw Yang Huan looking thoughtful, and then looked at Bryce White and McEntire's helplessness when they mentioned being acquired, and their urgency when they were burdened with debt. He knew what was going on and smiled.

"Master Huan, your Yang Group's real estate company seems to be making a big push into the tourism industry in China recently. I heard that it will build real estate projects and yacht clubs in five or six coastal cities in the next three to four years, with a total investment of several billion pounds."

When Bryce White and McEntire heard this, their eyes lit up. Billions of pounds?

Oh my God, this Chinese is so rich!

"So, Mr. Yang Huan is also interested in investing in yachts?"

Yang Huan heard the hidden meaning in Cash Harris's words. In fact, he also had his own plans.

"Well, I have always been interested in yachts. Our family has two Sunseeker yachts, one for the company to receive customers, and the other one is my own. I have always had a very good impression of your yachts."

Bryce White immediately took advantage of the situation and asked with a smile, "I wonder if Mr. Yang Huan is interested in purchasing our Sunseeker Yacht?"

Being acquired by a private investor, especially one from China, is much better than being acquired by a private equity company. At least there is no need to worry about being restructured or split, and there is no need to worry about being sold again in a short period of time.

Especially when it is acquired by a big money sponsor like Yang Huan, it is like holding on to a strong supporter.

"Buy Sunseeker Yacht?" Yang Huan smiled and shook his head. "I don't know much about this industry. Business is based on principles. As the saying goes, don't do something you are not familiar with. You are so familiar with the yacht industry and it has ended up like this. If I, an outsider, rush in rashly, I will probably suffer a big loss."

Yang Huan shook his head like a drum, "I'd rather not do it!"

Although Sunseeker Yachts is very famous, the entire luxury goods industry is now in a state of depression. Mergers and acquisitions among peers are impossible, and few foreign investors are interested. So far, only the Irish private equity company has come with the purpose of making money. Therefore, when they met Yang Huan, they were unwilling to let go.

Bryce White has been running Sunseeker Yachts painstakingly for more than 30 years, but has never made much money.

He considers himself a very dedicated yacht craftsman, but not necessarily a qualified business operator.

If you can sell the company for a large sum of cash in your later years while it still has value, it is better than letting the company go bankrupt.

"Mr. Yang Huan, in fact, the yacht industry is similar to some other industries. If you plan to run a yacht club, it will be a huge advantage to have a yacht manufacturing company behind you, especially a top yacht brand like our Sunseeker as a support. At least in terms of purchasing and maintaining yachts, you will have more advantages than others."

"Also, in fact, our Shengxi's business situation in recent years has not been very good. It is the result of our family's painstaking efforts for more than 30 years. We don't want to entrust it to the wrong person. If you are interested, Mr. Yang Huan, we can give you a discount on the purchase price."

"Is there a discount?" Yang Huan smiled after hearing this, "How much?"

"Two hundred and fifty million pounds!" Bryce White offered his psychological price.

"Two hundred and fifty million pounds?" Yang Huan was still very calm. It was equivalent to about 2.5 billion yuan.

But he did not comment and looked at Cash Harris.

The astute City investment consultant immediately smiled and shook his head, "Mr. Bryce White, your price is too outrageous. Do you really think Young Master Huan is a rich man?"

"What do you mean?" Yang Huan looked at Cash Harris and asked.

"Master Huan, according to the intelligence collected by our bank, the peak period of Shengxi Yacht was from 2002 to 2004. But even at their peak, the company's net profit was only 3%. In the following years, it was even less than 3%."

"So Sunseeker Yachts has bank debts all year round, usually between 10 million and 20 million pounds. In years with good sales, the amount is less, and in years with bad sales, the amount is more. But in recent years, they have been seriously outspending. If my information is correct, their bank debts are as high as 30 million pounds."

Bryce White was sweating all over. This Cash Harris was indeed a well-known investment consultant in the City of London. He knew everything very well. He was really extraordinary.

After hearing this, Yang Huan also shook his head and said with a sigh, "Kaishi, after hearing what you said, I really think it's not worth it."

"According to them, Shengxi is currently short of funds. I have to invest a large sum of money in the acquisition, at least to repay the bank debt. But based on their net profit of less than 3%, how many years will it take for me to get my money back? And I have to ensure the healthy operation of the company."

"This deal cannot be done!"

"I really can't do that!"

When Yang Huan shook his head, Bryce White and McEntire's hearts sank to the bottom.

If they were to be acquired by private equity, they would certainly not gain any benefit at all.

"Forget it. Although I am still very interested in purchasing Sunseeker Yacht, I still can't afford such a high price and so many problems."

After saying that, Yang Huan winked at Cash Harris and walked forward.

The little fat British boy was very smart and followed immediately.

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