Salthouse Marine Ltd, a historic and respected New Zealand maker of motor yachts, is in the hands of a receiver and is closing with the loss of about 50 jobs.
Receiver John Price of HPL Partners said he was called in last Thursday by a private investor.
"I have closed the company and all of the staff have been laid off," Mr Price said.
Two boats near completion were being finished and a decision was yet to be made on a large project. He declined to put a figure on the size of the receivership.
The company's boats are described as hand built with lavish interiors, while designed for rugged sport fishing.
"What's occurred here is very sad," Mr Price said.
The company produced "a very world class product".
The closure of the well known boat builder comes just ahead of the Auckland Boat show on March 11 to March 14.
The Salthouse name has been part of New Zealand's boat building heritage for about 60 years. The family business was set up by brothers Bob and John Salthouse, according to the company's website.
There are many companies associated with the family but for years the business operated from a site in Greenhithe and it is now located in Henderson.
In 1979 the Salthouse brothers employed 55 fulltime staff producing 50 boats a year.
The business went through hard times when a luxury boat tax was imposed in the Muldoon era but better times ensued when the tax was reduced and the boat building industry revived.
