London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 26, 2025

Former Ferguson shipyard boss offers to buy it back for £1

Former Ferguson shipyard boss offers to buy it back for £1

The former owner of Ferguson shipyard has said he would take it over again - but he would only pay £1.

Jim McColl said the second of two overbudget CalMac ferries being built at the Port Glasgow site should have been scrapped four years ago.

He blamed a flawed concept design and interference by state-owned ferries agency CMAL for delays and extra costs.

CMAL has insisted the problems stem from "catastrophic contractor failure" during Mr McColl's time in charge.

On Tuesday, the Scottish government revealed it would be cheaper to order a new ferry elsewhere rather than complete Hull 802 at the nationalised shipyard.

But Welfare Economy Secretary Neil Gray has given a ministerial instruction to continue funding, because the alternative would mean further delays to securing extra ferry capacity.

Mr McColl, who rescued the Ferguson shipyard from administration in 2014, said it was the right decision from "a moral standpoint" because it protected the workforce, but from a commercial perspective it made no sense.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime with John Beattie: "They've really dug a big hole for themselves here. They've messed up big time since they took that yard over - and the innocent victims here are the workforce.

"Commercially it's absolutely the wrong decision but it's a tough one because of the human cost involved. But they've created the problem with the human cost and they are going to have to fix it."

Hull 802 and Glen Sannox are still under construction at Ferguson Marine shipyard


The businessman claimed the problems encountered in building the ferries stemmed from an "inadequate" concept design that was not "properly thought through" by CMAL.

He said it would have made more sense to scrap the second ship, Hull 802, after the yard was nationalised in 2019, and start again with a more conventional vessel.

Mr McColl's company Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd (FMEL) was awarded the £97m contract to build the two ferries in 2015, and the ships were meant to enter service three years later.

But relations between FMEL and CMAL broke down after the yard presented a demand for extra costs, on grounds of unforeseen complexity and repeated design changes by the ferries procurement agency.

By 2019, construction had ground almost to a halt and the shipyard was nationalised after going into administration again.

Asked if he would consider buying the shipyard again Mr McColl said: "I would take it back for £1 and they would need to give me two years' worth of costs so we could keep the workforce there while we built up new orders."

He added that he did not expect the Scottish government to take up his offer.

Nicola Sturgeon visited the shipyard when the contract for two new ferries was awarded to Mr McColl's firm in 2015


CMAL said it did not wish to respond to his criticism, but it has previously accused Mr McColl's company of failing to deliver on what was a "design and build" contract.

In a submission to MSPs earlier this year it said: "CMAL consider that the primary cause of the vessels' delay and associated cost overrun is a catastrophic contractor failure between October 2015 and August 2019".

The current Ferguson Marine chief executive David Tydeman has blamed previous "management and build errors".

When Mr McColl's company FMEL went into administration in 2019 it was asking for an extra £66m to complete the ships, over and above the original £97m contract price. He was also pressing for an independent expert evaluation on the merits of his claim.

After nationalisation the government-appointed "turnaround director" Tim Hair said an extra £110m would be needed to finish the vessels.

This estimate for extra costs has since risen to more than £200m, with the first vessel, Glen Sannox, due for delivery this autumn and Hull 802 in late 2024.

A spokesperson for the Scottish government said: "When we took Fergusons into public ownership in 2019 we did so to ensure the delivery of 801 and 802 and to secure the future of the yard and its workforce.

"We did this because of the vital significance of the vessels to our island communities and the yard and its workforce to the local, regional and national economy."

The government intends to return Ferguson Marine to the private sector "when the time is right and when there is the right offer", the spokesperson added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
×