Sunseeker hits the headlines again with more corporate shifts, leadership appointments and ownership announcements. It’s going to be interesting to watch the new leadership team get to grips with our unique yacht-building sector and it’s not the first time we’ve seen a group of new leaders come in from automotive, technology and manufacturing with the long-term strategy to build the next chapter. Being a British company, I really hope they succeed and can invigorate and stimulate Sunseeker to reach its full potential, in a market full of production and semi-custom motoryachts and pocket superyachts all in the same space.

With its Made in Britain brand, what will make Sunseeker challenge the dominant Italians with their own Made in Italy strategy? In our current geo-political and labour landscape some serious work and support from the UK Government will be required. Sunseeker is hard to ignore and a business that will endure partly due to its loyal customer base and sales heritage, but with the Brexit scenario and UK manufacturing costs, it has suffered for many years now. The time has come for good investors and leadership to grab this business and rebuild its portfolio to make it stand out from the crowd of production motoryachts and become a revered leader, not just one of the many motoryacht brands.

It would be wonderful to hear something truly new and to witness an energising and dynamic
strategy that will make a difference for this valuable brand portfolio and put British yacht building
firmly back on the map.

With stated, significant investment from Cheyne Capital and Cross Ocean Partners (although no numbers have been shared), it will be interesting to see where the investment flows, as manufacturing and operations are key areas that can be upgraded and maybe where some of the automotive thinking can be applied. Commercial and product development are fundamental, as the past five years have seen a fairly stagnant and predictable approach, with some yachts that have not quite hit the mark and strategically expensive too, to say the least.

For the first time in many years, I will be making the journey to the Cannes Yachting Festival, with my focus on what the new leadership team has to say about Sunseeker’s future and its bold new vision. It would be wonderful to hear something truly new and to witness an energising and dynamic strategy that will make a difference for this valuable brand portfolio and put British yacht building firmly back on the map. Sunseeker needs stability and so does the UK yacht manufacturing sector. I hope our new leaders in government are watching.

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