海角视频 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 US$1bn order book.
The manufacturer is considering a new production facility at its South Yard base, in Devonport, which is included in Plymouth’s £50m tax-break freeport area.
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.
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And 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 £25m in Government funds, which will be matched locally.
The Freezone could be up and running by summer of 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 Meet the City Buyers event, called to brief the industry on major Plymouth building projects, at City College Plymouth.
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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.”
And she said: “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’ HR 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 in a very early stage and would need funding and planning permission but said: “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.
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“Our strapline is ‘crafted in Plymouth’,” he said. “So we have to build everything in Plymouth, and we are proud of that.”
In October, the company 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.
This year it has already sold 20 of its flagship Superfly X95 and has 57 orders for the new Y72 model which launched in the summer. The company is now poised for further growth with the new Y95, X80,and V50 already in production, as well as five further new model launches by the end of 2022.
And, despite being in a Covid-19 recovery phase, intensive recruitment continues with increased investment in skills training and award-winning apprenticeship programmes.
The firm, which employs about 3,200 people in Plymouth, faced challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing supply chain issues affecting the 海角视频 and turnover and profits dipped in 2020 as the company was affected by a temporary Covid-related closure. But it bounced back strongly and sales have grown to the highest levels in company history, with an order book exceeding US$1bn.
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Plymouth was named as a recipient of one of the country’s eight new freeports by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in his March 2021 Budget. It meant Plymouth could benefit from a £100m investment and employment boom, with an estimated 1,000 jobs created in the first two year. Plymouth was named as a freeport alongside East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe and Harwich, the Humber region, the Liverpool City Region, Solent, Thames and Teesside, but it must have its case approved by ministers.
Plymouth City Council has been working with Devon County Council and South Hams District Council on the outline business case for the Plymouth and South Devon Freezone. Ms Cozens said the council had been talking with key stakeholders and landowners, particularly at Langage, where the local authority owns significant land in the Freezone area, but not all of it.