Bradford Marine, Inc. has acquired rights to the Bradford name relating to yacht sales and charter. As a result, they are reuniting the Bradford name for the first time in over 25 years and re-branding their The Shipyard Group subsidiary which will become known as Bradford Marine Yacht Sales.
Bradford Marine was founded in 1966. In the early 1980's, co-founder Charles Blickle left the company but retained use of the Bradford name for his yacht sales and charter business called "Bradford Yacht Sales." In the early 1990's, Bradford Yacht Sales was acquired by outside investors, but Blickle's son, Charles Jr., stayed with that business for many years.
In 2005, Bradford Yacht Sales was acquired by a Miami-based shipyard that later merged the Bradford name into its existing yacht sales and charter business. In late 2008, the Miami company closed their yacht sales and charter business and transferred the Bradford name rights relating to yacht sales and charter to Charles Blickle, Jr. In January, 2009, Bradford Marine acquired these name rights from Blickle.
Paul Engle, Bradford Marine’s President, said, “We are very pleased to bring the "Bradford" name back together after more than 25 years of being apart. Consolidation of the "Bradford" name and rebranding The Shipyard Group to Bradford Marine Yacht Sales will eliminate confusion and clearly show that our yacht sales and charter subsidiary is a part of and represents some of the full line of quality yacht-related services provided by the Bradford Marine family of companies.”
The Bradford Marine family of companies include Bradford Marine Ft. Lauderdale with their full-service shipyard on Marina Mile in Fort Lauderdale; Bradford Marine Bahamas with their full-service shipyard in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island; Bradford Marine Yacht Sales (formerly The Shipyard Group) with their yacht sales and charter and professional services businesses; and Bradford Marine Towing with operations in both South Florida and the Bahamas.