France and Another v Discovery Yacht Sales Ltd and Another – QBD (Comm Ct) (Teare J) [2019] EWHC 3552 Comm – 19 December 2019

Sale of ship – Claimants purchasing yacht from first company – Defects appearing shortly after delivery – Second company agreeing to carry out repairs in return for claimants’ agreement that yacht could be shown at Annapolis Boat Show – Repairs not carried out – Whether both companies liable for breaches of contractual and statutory warranties – Measure of damages

By a Purchase Agreement dated 21 October 2015 the first claimant (Mr France) agreed to buy and the first defendant (DYSL) agreed to sell a yacht for the sum of £1,375,000. The yacht was to be built by a related company, Discovery Yachts Ltd (DYL). On 12 January 2017 the second claimant, a special purpose vehicle through which Mr France owned the yacht, took delivery of the yacht in Guernsey.