Yacht firm aims to build new factory as orders grow
LUXURY boat maker Princess Yachts wants to build another factory in Plymouth’s freeport area so it can produce more vessels, employ more people, and fulfil a $1 billion order book.
The manufacturer is considering a new production facility at its South Yard base, in Devonport, which is included in Plymouth’s £50 million tax-break freeport zone.
It is ‘early days’ and no plans have yet been drawn, but the firm and Plymouth City Council have confirmed a new factory is very much on their radar.
Princess Yachts is just one of several businesses, including some from abroad, which are eyeing the freeport, to be called the Plymouth and South Devon Freezone.
An outline business plan is due to be submitted to the Government before the end of November, and if all goes smoothly a full business case will be approved in spring 2022, unlocking £25 million in Government funds, which will be matched locally.
The Freezone could be up and running by summer 2022, and would include sites at Devonport’s South Yard, Langage Energy Zone and the as yet unbuilt Sherford Business Park next to the A38.
It would create space for businesses to import goods and materials, add value to them by manufacture, and export them, benefiting from simpler planning procedures, infrastructure funding, and lower taxes.
Caroline Cozens, strategic projects manager for Plymouth City Council, outlined the freeport process to about 100 construction industry bosses at a recent Meet the City Buyers event, called to brief the industry on major Plymouth building projects, at City College Plymouth.
She said: “We are getting great interest from the market that wants to invest, local businesses wanting to expand, and foreign direct investment in the city.”
She added: “Princess Yachts is looking at a new factory in that location and we are working with them to bring that forward.”
Princess Yachts already has several production bases in Plymouth, including at South Yard, where the X Class super flybridge yachts are constructed.
The former naval yard, which dates back to the 17th Century, is earmarked as part of the freeport.
Paul Turner, Princess Yachts’ human resources director, said Princess Yachts was considering a new factory in the location so it could make more vessels and employ more people.
He said: “There is a lot of space there, so a potential opportunity for future capacity there, an opportunity for increased capacity and headcount.”
He said the plan was at a very early stage and would need funding and planning permission, but added: “The reality is we need additional capacity, and it’s about an opportunity in Plymouth to create more jobs.”
He said the freezone would provide a “fantastic opportunity” for Princess Yachts, particularly as the firm prides itself on making every vessel in Plymouth. “Our strapline is ‘crafted in Plymouth’,” he added.
In October, the company, which employs about 3,200 people in Plymouth, revealed a “record-setting commercial performance” with sales surpassing production, with almost all output through to the end of 2022, and more than 60% of 2023 production, already covered by orders.