Princess Yachts International prepares the way for bigger 100ft-plus models...
The UK’s second-largest yachtbuilder has signed a 125-year lease on an additional 15-acre (six hectare) waterfront site at South Yard, Plymouth, that will significantly expand its capabilities. The site, part of the city’s famous Devonport Naval Base, will initially work on Princess 105s and 130s.
JUNE 2009
“Acquiring this land is a significant step for the company’s future,” says Chris Gates, Princess Yachts International’s managing director. “We’ve been working for some time to acquire a waterfront location in the Plymouth area... Expanding locally has always been a priority, not least because of the skilled workforce and supply chain we have established here over the years... The South Yard site will enable us to start immediate production of a new range of larger craft... We have identified this market as key for Princess to ensure its growth and long-term development, which will help us secure stable employment for our workforce.”
Including this latest investment, which will eventually represent a ‘phased cost’ of around £15m, Princess Yachts International now has around 153,000 square-metres (1,650,000 square-feet) of land at its disposal.
One of the first yachts to be built at the new site will be the raised piltohouse 32m (105ft) Princess 105 (Below Right). The first of those should launch during the second half of 2010. But more are on their way. For instance, there's a 40m (130ft) Princess 130 trideck coming for 2011 and the rumourmill suggests a Princess 140 could be not too far behind that one.
And ultimately expect to see Princess follow competitor Sunseeker, meaning bigger and bigger flybridge and sports-yacht models. After all that tack has served Sunseeker well enough.
Building boats since ’65, the company currently employs 1,750 people, which is down around 400 from a year ago. Its turnover for 2008 set a new record at around £220 million on the sale of around 400 boats; the previous year’s tally was £195 million on around 385 boats.
Turnover for ’09 looks like being 25 per cent down.
Previously a part of South African billionaire Graham Beck’s Renwick PLC operation, Princess yachts International’s majority shareholder as mid ’08 is L Capital, an investment vehicle affiliated of LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), the same luxury brand portfolio that acquired the Feadship yard Royal van Lent last year, and Groupe Arnault. The L Capital, LVMH and Groupe Arnault entities are majority owned by billionaire yachtsman Bernard Arnault; among other things he owns the 70m (230ft) motoryacht Amadeus, a former German-built oceanographic research vessel he had converted a few years back by Jade Yachts in Taiwan.
Arnault’s holdings are substantial. Overall he controls 60-70 of the world’s best luxury brands – including, just to give a flavour to his complete portfolio, Louis Vuitton, Tag-Heuer, Moët & Chandon, Pucci, Fendi, Donna Karan, Celine, Kenzo, Loewe, Givenchy and Thomas Pink. The Princess acquisition is estimated to have valued the business at around £200 million, which, if correct, would equates to a year’s turnover and an EBITDA multiple of well over 10.
Certainly Princess Yachts is a global brand. Exports account for 85 per cent of sales. Its network of distributors covers no fewer than 65 countries.
Princess Yachts has a range of flybridge motoryachts and ‘V Class’ sports-yachts ranging from 12.8-29m (42-95ft).
These pictures taken at South Yard show naval base commander, Commodore Ian Jess (left), and Chris Gates (right), managing director of Princess Yachts International, in front of the present flagship model, the Princess 95, which the company has been building at a rate of around 5.5 per year since its launch around two years ago.
Longstanding Princess boss David King continues to serve as executive chairman.
For more, www.princessyachts.com.
© Phil Draper
