 | |
| Industry | Passenger transport Leisure Marine container leasing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1965 |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Fate | liquidated |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Bob Mackenzie (CEO & President) James Sherwood (Founder) |
| Website | www.seacontainers.com |
Sea Containers was a Bermudan registered company which operated two primary business areas: transport and container leasing.
It was founded in 1965 by James Sherwood and was initially focused on the leasing of cargo containers. During 1974, Sea Containers was floated on the New York Stock Exchange. Over the next three decades, the company branched into various other markets, leading to the creation of the Orient-Express Hotels chain, hovercraft, and the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service. In May 1989, the British-based transport company Tiphook launched a $824 million bid to take over Sea Containers, which was successfully opposed by Sherwood. Sherwood maintained his leadership of the company into the twenty-first century, during which time he become fairly wealthy, something for which he was criticised following the collapse of the company.
During the 1990s, Sea Containers successfully bid for the InterCity East Coast franchise amid the privatisation of British Rail; it was awarded a seven-year franchise which it operated via to a newly-created subsidiary Great North Eastern Railway (GNER). In March 2005, the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the franchise to GNER for a further seven years; however, this newer arrangement lacked subsidies, instead requiring payments from GNER, contributing to the company's future financial hardship. During March 2006, amid several financial setbacks, Sherwood resigned from Sea Containers and many of his other companies.[1] On 16 October, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. While the remainder of the group was being wound down and liquidated, the remaining maritime container interests were transferred to the newly created SeaCo Ltd in 2009.