Pendennis acquires Devonport Yachts Ltd
By IBI Magazine
The UK's Pendennis Shipyard has acquired Plymouth-based superyacht builder Devonport Yachts Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Devonport will now serve as a partner company to Pendennis, with its head office in Falmouth on Britain's southwest coast.
The news comes as Ernesto Bertarelli, owner of the superyacht Vava and the America's Cup Team Alinghi, was made a minority shareholder in Pendennis.
"This acquisition provides the group with a powerful brand with which to penetrate the 60m-plus new build and refit markets and to continue to develop our position as a leading international superyacht business," says Mike Carr, joint managing director of Pendennis.
"Over our 20-plus year history, we have established Pendennis as a leading brand for refit and new build of superyachts up to 60m whilst at the same time developing jobs and facilities in Falmouth," he adds. "Placing the Devonport brand and Devonport Yachts Ltd's other assets within the group will expand our portfolio and help accelerate plans to further develop Falmouth as the UK's premier superyacht centre of excellence."
The move could prove a boost to the local economy in Cornwall, and may enable the order book at Pendennis to be supplemented with the building and refitting of superyachts in 60m-plus sector.
Falmouth has seen an increase in visiting large yachts and is well placed to develop a superyacht centre for Northern Europe.
Devonport Yachts Ltd will continue as a separate subsidiary business with Stephen Hills maintaining his role as managing director.
Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd (DRDL) originally established the Devonport brand name as the trading name of its yacht division shortly after the dockyard was privatised in 1987.
Since that time it has been associated with the refits of Talitha G, followed by Leander and the rebuilding of Salem converting her from a weather ship into a yacht. As builders they completed the 77m diesel electric yacht Samar in 2006 and the 82m yacht Sarafsa in 2008.
Still to be completed by them is the 90m Redman Whiteley Dixon designed replacement for Ernesto Bertarelli's Vava and the high-speed gas turbine powered 50m Alamshar said to be for the Aga Khan.
Pendennis has become one of Cornwall's most important yachting industry employers with 300 people based at their 6.5-acre prime water front location inside Falmouth Docks. Following recent expansion the facility now has one of the largest covered dry docks in Europe at 150m long.
In that development their outer 75m dry dock was completely enclosed and the addition of a 55m (L) x 17m (H) x 16m (W) covered tented space on hard standing in the centre of the yard brings additional flexible undercover space to develop new contracts.
The current projects underway at the yard include two new builds and the refits of Moonbird, Mariette and a 50m Feadship motoryacht.
(23 February 2010)
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