Making waves

How times have changed. In 30 years, boats have transformed from the daycruisers of the 1970s to the gigantic luxury yachts of today. And customers have changed too. Sunseeker founder and CEO, Robert Braithwaite, talks to Colette Steckel about the business of being a boatbuilder

In the glamorous world of luxury motor yachts, size matters. At least it does to those sea-faring customers for whom money is no object. Their demand for bigger and more expensive boats has led to a boom in the marine industry, energising European boatbuilders into competing with each other to design the latest super yacht. And they've been coming up with the goods, producing sleek, sophisticated craft exceeding 100ft (30 metres); yachts of almost ship-like proportions that were practically unheard of a decade ago. Robert Braithwaite, the charismatic founder and CEO of Sunseeker International, the British luxury yachtbuilder, notes that things have changed since he got into the boat business in the 1970s, a decade when small daycruisers were all the rage among the boating fraternity. 'When I first started out 30 years ago, people didn't have that much wealth. But the world has changed. Enormous amounts of money are being made. And that means good business for us.'

Well yes, it does. Especially if your customers are willing to part with a few million pounds to get the latest model. But Braithwaite cautions that with European boatbuilders like Britain's Princess, and Italy's Azimut, attracting high-earners with their gigantic yachts, Sunseeker has to deliver not only a bigger and better model, but one also worth the expense. 'The marine industry is becoming more and more competitive. You just can't say we are the best boatbuilder and ask fantastic amounts of money. You have to generate exciting designs and make boats that people want to own, otherwise customers will go elsewhere.'

Sunseeker's most recent success on the super yacht front is the jaw-dropping 105 Yacht. Launched in 2001, the 105 Yacht is the current flagship of the Sunseeker collection and, at 32 metres, it is also one of the largest and most expensive, but more of that later. In the meantime, here's where I confess to being rather enamoured of the 105, but you would be too if you managed to get invited to a viewing. On board, full width patio doors lead to a spacious saloon with a stylish corner bar, plush sofas upholstered in suede, a huge plasma screen TV and a full dining area with equipped kitchen, all kitted out in glossy cherrywood. At the bow, the multi-level owners suite has a king-size bedroom with a curved staircase which takes you down to a swish marble-clad bathroom with jacuzzi, while another staircase upstairs leads to the ultimate master suite accessory - a fully mirrored dressing room. On the lower deck are the luxury guest bedrooms, while on the upper deck is the high-tech wheelhouse with its top-notch monitoring and navigation systems and plush leather captain's seat where those at the driving seat get the rare pleasure of driving a craft powered by Twin 1800 hp MTU V16s (if engines mean anything to you) yielding speeds of up to 30 knots. Out on the flybridge is a hot tub (but of course!) and a bar, while in the stern is a garage to store a jet-ski or two.

And all for not much change out of £5m. Is it worth it? Frankly, I don't know, but if you have that kind of money to spend, it probably doesn't matter. Suffice it to say that the 105 Yacht is solely the preserve of the exceedingly rich; increasingly those who have made their millions through business or yacht fans from the world of sport (Formula 1 boss Eddie Jordan bought his 105 Yacht when it was first launched). But Braithwaite notes that the super yachts are just a small part of the Sunseeker collection. There are the smaller and no less classy models which are more accessible to a much wider audience. The latest is the Manhattan 50, launched in January this year at the London Boat Show; an elegant flybridge motoryacht (with a large sunbathing and socialising area on the upper deck) retailing at a more manageable - at least for some - £500,000.

Which begs the question: who is Sunseeker's average customer? Braithwaite reasons that there isn't one. 'There's no such thing as an average customer,' he says. 'Anybody who buys a boat, even the smallest one, is parting with an awful lot of money. To me, that's not an average customer.' Indeed. Sunseeker's customers are, in fact, a mixed bunch, ranging from the extremely wealthy, to cash-rich retired couples, to celebrities, and increasingly, to the lottery winners. The age profile is changing too with younger buyers coming into the market. And their demands vary. With all yachts custom-made, clients can take their pick of décor and layout. 'What I've found over the years is that individuality is increasingly important to customers,' notes Braithwaite. 'And we offer that.' Past requests include bright yellow interiors for one customer and a black hull (as opposed to the standard white one) for another. He adds: 'Although a 65-footer is essentially the same, people will want their own stamp on it. They want it be different.'

British-made and proud of it

Braithwaite started Sunseeker in 1969, when it was then called Poole Powerboats, selling Scandinavian sports and leisure craft to European customers. But his aim was to create a British brand, and as there were no significant builders of boats in the UK, he saw a gap in the market. 'It's a horrible cliché, but I'll say it anyway,' he begins. 'I wanted to build something that was British but also fantastic.' He started off building basic models made from marine ply, which he exported as the UK market was still in its infancy. But he admits to hushing up the fact that the boats were made in Britain. 'We actually didn't tell people we were British-made to begin with,' he says. 'It was back when Britain went through a period of bad publicity on the manufacturing side. Remember British Leyland?' Actually, I don't, but Braithwaite assures me that the tag of being 'made in Britain' wasn't quite so revered in the 1970s, unlike now. He's immensely proud of the fact that Sunseeker is a world-class outfit winning numerous awards, including the 2000 Queen's Award for Enterprise, and whose home is still in Poole in Dorset on the south coast.

Together with his brother John, who continues to work with the design team, Braithwaite made a name for Sunseeker at the national boat shows where he would display the limited range of speedboats and daycruisers, which were revolutionary for their time. 'We had no money and had to borrow as much as we could. We thought we had the talent between us to make boats we could sell, but we needed to get noticed. The boat shows were always important. We would set up a stand with three or four boats and, to visitors, we'd look quite a fancy company, but really it was just us and a tin shed on Poole harbour,' recalls Braithwaite.

Although Sunseeker was happily selling its boats to the European market and the burgeoning British market in daycruisers, the turning point for the company came in the 1980s when Don Shead, a leading boat designer, joined the team. With his expertise in advanced hull design, Sunseeker started producing high performance, pleasure boats with racing hulls that struck a cord with customers at home and overseas. Since then Shead, whose relationship with Sunseeker has endured, and his growing team of designers are consistently going back to the drawing board and improving on style and performance of the company's models.

To ensure the success of the business, Braithwaite has developed new shipyards in Poole to cope with the production of the super yachts and has also invested in computerised design and manufacturing systems. 'Technology is helping us enormously with design, especially with moulds and finishes. But this business is also about craftmanship. To create something as beautiful and well-designed as we do, you also need experienced and skilled labour. I'm proud of our ever-growing work force. Everyone, regardless of their level, is important here.' The investment in the business, which is financed entirely by the Braithwaite family, has paid off handsomely. Sunseeker's turnover in 2003 climbed to £141m and the workforce has topped 1,300.

Business wasn't always so good though. A lucky escape from what Braithwaite refers to as a difficult period in the late 1980s, when recession hit and demand tailed off, has put the company on its guard to the vagaries of working in luxury goods. 'In bad times, the only way you can survive in the marine business is by creating demand. And to do that you have to have a global reach.' Aside from the headquarters in Poole (Braithwaite vehemently rejects the notion of moving to warmer climes), the business now has factory-appointed distributors in over 30 countries. 'We've picked up markets all over the world, so if one drops there is another somewhere else. You have to have a vision. Otherwise you'll never succeed.'

As for the next must-have yacht, Braithwaite has a couple of aces up his sleeve. 'I think it's important to continue growing the business but also keep customers happy,' he says wisely. 'That means not just increasing the output but moving into different facets, like building bigger yachts.' In anticipating demand for larger craft, Sunseeker is hoping that its 120 Yacht will go into production by the end of this year while the early stages of design are already underway on the 140 Yacht, heralding an unprecedented move in marine construction. In the meantime, and to keep lesser mortals happy, the company is introducing the modest Portofino 35; a racy little number that, according to Sunseeker's glossy brochure, 'is guaranteed to deliver fun and comfort in abundance'. Which, I might add, sounds right up my street. If only I had a couple of hundred thousand pounds to spare.

For more information on Sunseeker, visit the website at www.sunseeker.com.