Sunseeker

Sunseeker's history began in 1969 when Robert Braithwaite founded a small shipyard in the seaside town of Poole in Dorset, southern England. This modest start evolved into a major yacht-building enterprise. By the early 1970s, the yard, focusing on high-speed boats and cruisers, debuted two successful models: the Sovereign 17 and 20. Less than a decade later, with the addition of renowned racing yacht designer Don Shead to the team, Sunseeker gained international attention with the Offshore 28, a pioneering speedboat of its time. It was also during this period that the company rebranded to Sunseeker International.

By the mid-1990s, Sunseeker began to penetrate the superyacht market, launching the Predator 80, followed by the Sunseeker 105 in 2001. The Sunseeker 105 won two prestigious awards at the International Superyacht Design Awards and became the shipyard’s flagship model.

The financial crisis of 2008-2010 impacted the company, leading to its sale to the Irish investment group FL Partners in 2010. In 2013, ownership of Sunseeker was acquired by the Chinese Dalian Wanda Group.

In 2019, Sunseeker partnered with Rolls-Royce to develop a hybrid-powered yacht featuring MTU's serial production engines, which was showcased at the boot Düsseldorf 2019.

Sunseeker's designers continue to expand the company's fleet, with five new models introduced in 2023 alone.

Sunseeker's headquarters and nine production facilities, including one with a dock for constructing large vessels up to 50 meters, are located in Poole, UK. This site also houses the company's specialized design and technology center. An additional deepwater shipyard for building yachts in the 105 series and larger vessels is located in Hythe.

The combined production capacity of the entire shipyard conglomerate allows for the annual production of approximately 150 hulls.

Sunseeker offers both custom and semi-custom yachts across seven series:

• Superyacht: Custom superyacht projects starting from 35 meters with the highest level of personalization (Sunseeker Bespoke service). Flagship models include the Superyacht 116, 120, and 131.
• Ocean: Crossover yachts with flybridges and increased internal space, ranging from 25 to 50 meters.
• Yacht: Classic luxury flybridge yachts, ranging from 23 to 30 meters.
• Manhattan: Flybridge yachts from 17 to 22 meters, featuring the Manhattan 55 and 68 models.
• Predator: High-speed cruisers with hardtops, ranging from 17 to 23 meters.
• Sport Yacht: Open sports yachts with sportbridges, ranging from 17 to 23 meters.
• Performance: Fast day boats from 12 to 17 meters, including the open day boat Hawk 38.

Among Sunseeker's most popular models are the Manhattan and Predator series, which are ideal for weekend getaways. The largest yacht ever built by the yard is the Sunseeker 155.

Currently, the company is actively working on new superyacht projects, including the Sunseeker 88, Sunseeker Ocean 182, Ocean 460, and 50M Ocean. These new projects will be constructed from aluminum in collaboration with Dutch shipyard Icon Yachts, Sunseeker's general contractor and partner.