The Ƶ’s largest luxury yacht maker says the Chancellor’s new loan scheme for mid-sized businesses has secured its future and protected nearly 18,000 workers around the country.
Princess Yachts has welcomed Rishi Sunak’s announcement to help businesses with revenue between £45million and £500millon saying it will bolster the firm during the coronavirus pandemic.
Although Princess Yachts has furloughed the vast majority of its 4,300 workforce in Plymouth, where all its boats are made, and ceased production, the firm said Mr Sunak’s announcement would protect these jobs and 13,500 supply chain posts around the Ƶ.
Antony Sheriff, chief executive of Princess Yachts, said: “We applaud the efforts made by the Chancellor and the Government to date and we are thankful that our concerns were taken seriously and listened to.”
Mr Sheriff was reportedly disappointed by Mr Sunak’s initial efforts which would have meant firms such as Princess Yachts having to access costly commercial loans.
The Treasury acted following fears that medium-sized businesses were missing out because they were too big to apply for the Government’s Business Interruption Loan Scheme and too small for a Government debt-buying programme for larger companies.
The new Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) will provide a Government guarantee of 80%. This will enable banks to make loans of up to £25million to firms with an annual turnover of between £45million and £500million.
Princess Yachts said the Chancellor’s shake-up of support arrangements was “warmly received” and it was delighted the Government had responded to the situation at Princess Yachts, where is was in a “challenging position”.
Although it has cash in the bank and can withstand months of lockdown, the firm is understood to be concerned about re-start costs, especially of materials have gone up in price.
Princess Yachts said it was one of about 5,000 “squeezed middle companies” who had initially felt “stranded” by the Government because earlier support package offerings did not apply to mid-sized companies with a turnover of more than £45million but which were not big enough to avail themselves of the investment deal.
More about Princess Yachts
The new scheme, however, provides larger firms such as Princess Yachts with more help from state-backed loans.
But now it has that backing, Princess Yachts thanked the Government and other organisations, which have been in contact with it about the situation, including Plymouth City Council, the CBI, the Department of International Trade, the Department for Business Enterprise and Industrial Strategy, Plymouth MPs Luke Pollard, Johnny Mercer and Sir Gary Streeter; British Marine, Malindi Myers at the Bank of England and, naturally, the Chancellor “for hearing us and responding with these necessary changes in record time”.
The company, which operates from five sites in Plymouth, said it was delighted the Government had also recognised Princess Yachts as a world-leading luxury British brand and exporter, now seen as the leading luxury yacht brand in its sector in more than 103 countries across the world.
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The company has also been hailed as one of the greatest self-sufficient and vertically complex manufacturing businesses left in the Ƶ. It has an 18-month order book and said it was on the verge of significant growth.
The new Government-backed support will help Princess Yachts maintain its global footprint position and continue to “give us confidence” in respect of the 4,300-plus jobs dependant on Princess in the South West of England – predominantly around Plymouth - and the 13,500 jobs across the Ƶ dependant on the manufacturer.
Mr Sheriff said: “We have huge appreciation for our supporters, especially the Plymouth City Council, MPs, the CBI, and others. We look forward to continued collaboration with these important organisations and Government bodies in the future”.
Mr Sunak said, during his April 2 announcement: “This is a national effort and we’ll continue to work with the financial services sector to ensure that the £330billion of Government support, through loans and guarantees, reaches as many businesses in need as possible.”
