Sunseeker Yachts builds composite luxury semi-custom sport boats and performance motor yachts from 12.9 to 47.24 metres in Poole, UK, and a 50m in aluminium at Icon in The Netherlands. With about 2,000 employees, it is the UK’s largest maritime industry employer and has dealerships or dealer affiliations in 74 countries. Average annual output is approximately 150 units.
History of Sunseeker
Luxury yacht builder Sunseeker Yachts finds its roots in Poole Power Boats, a small shipyard founded by brothers Robert and John Braithwaite in the county of Dorset on the southern coast of the UK. Renamed Sunseeker Yachts in 1985, the motor yacht builder collaborated with racing yacht designer Don Shead, who developed Sunseeker Yachts’ signature performance hull. In addition, luxury performance yacht builder Sunseeker adopted innovative propulsion technology such as surface drives and water jets. In the 1980s, luxury yacht builder Sunseeker also began collaborating with renowned yacht interior designer Ken Freivokh to upgrade its yacht interior styling. Sunseeker entered the superyacht market with the launch of its Sunseeker Predator 80 model in the mid-1990s and, in 2001, with the Sunseeker 105. In 2013, the Wanda Group, owned by Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, acquired Sunseeker Yachts. According to the BBC, £320 million bought Wanda Group a 92 per cent stake.
In September 2020 Wanda Group announced it was investing over £38 million in new product development for Sunseeker between 2020-2023 with the goal of its product range doubling to 22 models, quicker than originally planned. In 2020, for example, the brand will add the following models: 90 Ocean, 88 Yacht, 65 Sport Yacht, Manhattan 55 and Predator 55. Sunseeker has made a successful transition from fast dayboats to comfortable performance cruisers and modern large luxury superyachts. Demand for the company’s larger models continues to grow with over 130 yachts of at least 100 feet in length delivered.