Princess Yachts
Princess Yachts Limited is a British luxury motor yacht manufacturer, French-majority owned and based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England.
| Type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Luxury motor yachts |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Brian Phillips, Cliff Viney and David King (Co-Founders), Antony Sheriff (Executive Chairman) |
Number of employees | Approximately 3000 |
| Website | Princess Yachts |
Profile
Established in Plymouth in 1965 as Marine Projects (Plymouth) Ltd, Princess Yachts was bought in 1981 by South African businessman Graham J. Beck. Marine Projects became Princess Yachts International PLC in 2001. In June 2008, Beck sold a 75% stake in the business to French businessman Bernard Arnault's investment group, L Capital 2 FCPR, a division of LVMH, for 200 million euros/pounds[1]. The LVMH group includes over 60 international luxury brands, including: Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, De Beers, Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Krug.
Princess Yachts operates in 119 countries and employs over 3,000 people worldwide, whilst their shipyards cover a combined area of over 1.1 million square feet.
Range of yachts
The Princess Yachts range is sub-divided into the following class types: M Class, X Class, Y Class, F Class, V Class, S Class and R Class.
- M Class: super yachts ranging from 99 to 131 feet.
- X Class: 'Super Flybridge' yacht at 95 feet
- Y Class: motor yachts ranging from 80 to 88 feet.
- F Class: flybridge yachts ranging from 47 to 69 feet.
- V Class: sports yachts ranging from 42 to 66 feet.
- S Class: sportbridge yachts ranging from 62 to 80 feet.
- R Class: fully carbon fibre performance sports yacht at 35 feet
Partnership with BAR Technologies and Pininfarina
In January 2018, Princess Yachts announced they were partnering with BAR Technologies to create a new yacht, the Princess R Class, to be launched later in 2018(3). BAR Technologies, founded by gold medal-winning Olympian Ben Ainslie, is a team of naval architects and engineers formed to use the skills and experience built up by the British yacht racing team, Land Rover BAR.
The new yacht is fully carbon fibre and features Princess’ Active Foil System, resulting in Princess’ fastest yacht to date. Princess also collaborated with Italian design house, Pininfarina to create the R Class' carbon-fibre monocoque hull, enhancing the boat's aerodynamics.
During its development stage, the R Class has been covered in dazzle camouflage to confuse the eye and help conceal its design from competitors. The camouflage was created by Katie Sheppard, a student at the Plymouth College of Art, who won a competition to design the pattern.
References
1. “Luxury yacht firm’s ‘golden’ deal”. BBC News. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
2. Marine Conservation Society Princess Yachts webpage. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
3. “Princess Yachts reveals partnership with BAR Technologies”. Ybw.com. 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
4. “Princess teams up with BAR Technologies for first carbon yacht”. Boatinternational.com. 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2018-03-12.