The £50m. vessel was bought from the Australian-based manufacturer by Condor and delivered earlier this year.
Since its launch it has suffered delays, crashed into Guernsey harbour fenders, had a berthing limit imposed, seen negative reviews posted on Trip Advisor and You Tube and, following safety concerns from some passengers, is being looked into by a maritime safety agency.
Rumours that the ultimate owner of Condor – the Macquarie Group – also owned Austal and this may have been a factor in the sale have been circulating on social media for several weeks but have now been strongly denied.
A spokesman for Macquarie Group said yesterday that the global financial services company, which has more than 14,000 employees worldwide, operates a very clear and strong separation between its different businesses – commonly known as 'Chinese walls'.
The company's long-term investment in Condor is held by the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 2.
'This ensures the businesses operate at arm's length, are independent and avoid any conflicts of interest between our investments and client activities.'
Condor Liberation was purchased directly by Condor Ltd from a 100%-owned subsidiary of Austal Ltd on 15 August 2014.
The vessel was bought for cash, entirely funded by an equity injection from Condor's 100%-owner, the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 2.
Although, there were some 'touch-points', no Macquarie Group company has direct investment in Austal.
'Four Macquarie-managed equity funds, which are run by independent investment teams based in Sydney and Hong Kong, have small holdings of Austal which, on average, represent 0.4% of Austal in each of the four funds as of 1 June 2015.
'The portfolio managers make their investment decisions independently, do not exert influence over either MIRA investments, Condor, or Austal itself.'
A now defunct fund, the Macquarie Private Equity Multifund, did purchase a stake in Austal in the early 1990s, but sold the entire stake soon after it listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1998.
A rights issue by Austal in November 2012 was co-managed by Macquarie Securities Group and JP Morgan, but the spokesman said that this was 'in the ordinary course of a brokerage business, and conducted completely independently of any Macquarie-managed fund and other Macquarie divisions'.
