Princess Yachts will debut a record five boats at the Southampton International Boat Show and Cannes Yachting Festival, totaling 9 new products to launch in 2019. The shipyard also recruited 42 new apprentices to join their workforce in Plymouth.

This year is set to be the busiest ever for Princess Yachts, with five new yachts to be launched at the Southampton International Boat Show and Cannes Yachting Festival in September.

Princess is also going through the second successive year of record employment, sales and profit: with a further four luxury yachts revealed or announced this year, the UK manufacturer will reach the number of 9 premieres in a year, a record for the brand.

Antony Sheriff, Executive Chairman of Princess Yachts, said: “We are immensely proud to be putting five stunning new yachts onto the water this autumn. Each boat has unique qualities yet together they represent our core values of great design, superb artisanship and a focus on enjoying life at sea. Presenting a record number of yachts at Southampton and Cannes underlines our investment in the UK. This commitment to the UK is only possible thanks to a meticulous overhaul of the business in recent years and the introduction of new technologies and design. Without the full support of everyone at Princess – from generations of families that have been with us for decades through to our latest new recruit apprentices – we couldn’t have achieved this success in such a short period.”

Record numbers in production, sales, and employment were made possible by a £100m five-year investment program, which began in 2016. In 2018, Princess marked its most successful year in its 54-year history, with over 3,000 people producing yachts across its five Plymouth boatyards, a 50% increase since 2016.

The shipyard also invested in a successful apprenticeship program, paired with a new partnership with South Devon College. This led to a record 42 new apprentices –joining the business in 2019; apprentices now make up 4% of the workforce with a 100% retention rate in recent years following qualification.

Enhancing its models with new technologies, Princess Yachts will present the Y72  in 2020, the second yacht, after the R35, to feature the revolutionary Princess active ride control technology inspired by supercars and America’s Cup racing, whilst the V55 debuting at Southampton features an all-new hull design that provides a class-leading combination of performance and efficiency.

The Southampton International Boat Show is the UK’s leading event in the yacht retail calendar. Debuting at this year’s show are the F50 flybridge, the sporty S62, and S66 sportbridges, the V55 and the Y78 motor yacht. The F50 and S66 receive a simultaneous debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival. These five new additions join the yachts already announced in 2019 – the F45 flybridge, the V78, the flagship Y85, and the X95 superfly.