POOLE’S luxury boatbuilder Sunseeker made a loss of £41 million last year, it has been revealed.

But the company says it expects to turn a profit next year and will be hiring more staff as it invests £20 million in the business.

The figures for 2014 were affected by the costs of a restructuring, which saw the firm shed 300 jobs last Christmas, and .

But Sunseeker said the results also reflected difficult market conditions that year.

Chief executive Phil Popham – who joined the company at the start of 2015 – said the company’s Chinese owner the Wanda Group was backing the investment programme.

“We’ve got confidence we’ll take Sunseeker back to profitability in 2016 which will be very pleasing,” he said.

And he insisted the company would be hiring rather than cutting staff.

“We will be building more boats, we will be building them more efficiently and we’ll be growing our workforce,” he said.

Sunseeker employs 2,000 people in Poole and Portland.

It plans to invest in manufacturing facilities, a growing dealer network and hire skilled staff and apprentices.

The company, which went into 2014 with unsold stock, has seen retail orders rise by 70 per cent year-on-year.

More than £64 million worth of orders have come in for its new 131 Yacht, the first of which is now in the water at Poole ahead of its launch in January 2016.

Mr Popham said investors were behind a “robust business plan” produced by the company’s new executive team.

“With the 2014 results, There are a whole lot of reasons, like one-offs, why the 2014 result was as it was,” he said.

“We’ve developed a strong business plan with the new team.”

The plan included “significant improvements” in the time taken to build yachts.

Mr Popham repeated assurances that the company was committed to Dorset.

“The heart of our business is here in Dorset,” he said.

“We’re a British brand. That’s absolutely important to our success. The British are the ones that understand least what being British is about. Our customers do.

“They understand being British is about design, leadership, craftsmanship. Being here in Dorset is a very important part of that, at the heart of the business.”

As well as the 131 Yacht, the company plans several more new models next year, including the 116 and 95 yachts, which have attracted more than £40 million worth of orders.

The new year will see the company launch the first of four models in its Manhattan range.

Read a full interview with Phil Popham in The Briefing on Tuesday.