THE boss of Sunseeker has said the company is “proud to be British” and he cannot see it ceasing to make its luxury boats in Poole.

His remarks came as the firm – which employs around 2,000 people in Dorset – prepares to join Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Sunseeker, which was founded as Poole Power Boats in 1969, was bought in 2013 by a Chinese commercial property conglomerate, the Wanda Group.

Phil Popham was appointed chief executive last year after a 25-year career with Jaguar Land Rover.

He told The Briefing: “We’re a British company. We’re headquartered in Poole. We’ve been a part of the Dorset infrastructure from our incorporation back in 1969. Being British, our heritage is very important to us but internationally to our customers as well.

“The heart of the business is local and remains in Dorset. We do need to respond to the challenges of being a global organisation. We do need to look at over time at some of our component sourcing strategy and currency hedging and so on.

“At the moment, we’re not planning to build anywhere other than the UK. That might change in the future but the heart of the business will remain in Dorset because that’s so important to our history and the reason why we’re a unique selling proposition in the eyes of our customers.”

He added: “I cannot see a scenario where Sunseeker was not building boats in Poole. We’ve been here through our history. Our proud heritage is build onto that.

“We’re proud to be British. We see it as the home of craftsmanship," he added.

Mr Popham’s appointment at Sunseeker last year was announced just as a business review was leading to the loss of 300 jobs. The company said it was streamlining ‘non-core’ activities and investing in bringing new models to market more quickly.

“Since I’ve come in, we’ve put a lot of plans in place for the future,” said Mr Popham.

“We’ve developed a strong business plan for three to five years, supported by our shareholders. The right levels of investment and funding are in that business plan and product development is a key part of that – taking a long term view in terms of the market we’re in, where the trends are, the products we need to develop.”

After last year’s restructure, which he said was about “right-sizing” the operation, the business plan was one for growth, he said. The company will take on 38 apprentices this year, with more to come.

Sunseeker is currently building the first of its 116 and 131 superyachts, with new products lined up until 2017.

Its 57 Predator, unveiled at this year’s London Boat Show, has become the company’s fastest-selling boat ever, Mr Popham said.

Its order books are already 35 per cent full for 2016.

Mr Popham’s most recent post at Jaguar Land Rover was as group marketing director. He had been group sales director and managing director of Land Rover and had worked for the company in North and South America.

He said the outlook at Sunseeker was “positive”.

“What I’ve been able to do, in the last seven months, is bring some of the discipline of a much bigger organisation and a bigger industry to put in place in Sunseeker,” he said.

“We’ve created a new team with a nice balance between experienced Sunseeker people together with people that have come out of other industries, who have had the benefit of working in a different organisation with a real focus on the longer term planning.

“We have a strong brand, a strong product that responds to what customers want and like,” he added.

“We need primarily to be building product that the customers want. Although the industry has gone through some very difficult times and so has Sunseeker, one thing that’s important is the level of investment we’ve continued to have in creating new products.”

Sunseeker will be at the Southampton Boat Show, from September 11-20, when it will be hosting the GREAT Creations exhibition in the VIP area of its stand.

The exhibition, part of the government's GREAT Britain campaign, will feature a gown hand-crafted by couture designer Nicholas Oakwell; a GREAT Mulberry handag by Cara Delavigne; a decorative bowl hand-drafted by Cleave, Court Jewellers and Medallists; a handcrafted watch by Roger Smith; and four portraits of the Queen by David Bailey.

Sunseeker has created a GREAT edition of its San Remo yacht for the occasion, dressed in a Union Flag wrap.

“I think to be able to show a number of British luxury brands in the context of the GREAT campaign gives us an interesting angle,” said Mr Popham.

“We will be there in strength as we always are in our show so close to home. About eight of our yachts will be there in Southampton so we’ll have quite a presence.”

As of September, Sunseeker will be part of its county’s chamber of trade.

“A number of our suppliers are companies headquartered in Dorset as well. I think it’s really important that a company like ourselves is a key part of the business community,” said Mr Popham.

“Being part of the chamber is an important part of that. We can help them and they can help us in terms of providing the right business environment for the county and having a voice for the county.

“I’m really glad we’re going to become a platinum partner and play our part in the business of the county.”