POOLE’S luxury boat builder Sunseeker International has appointed a former board member at Bentley as its chief operating officer.

Michael Straughan was the responsible for manufacturing at the car maker and led production facilities in the UK and abroad.

Sunseeker chief executive Phil Popham said: “It is a testament to the strength of the Sunseeker business today that we are able to attract his calibre of professional with a proven track record of directing successful manufacturing operations within the premium luxury sector.

“Michael will provide us with some crucial operational expertise as we enter an exciting phase of growth and ensure we can increase our production capacity efficiently while maintaining and improving our exceptional product quality.

“I am really looking forward to working with him and the rest of the team to deliver some bold new product plans that will see us further strengthen Sunseeker’s position as one of the world’s leading yacht builders.”

Mr Straughan said: “Sunseeker is a fantastic brand with an incredible reputation around the world for exciting, high quality products and I am delighted to be joining them. The plans for the business will see this strengthen further still with significant investment planned across facilities and products, so this truly is an exciting time to be joining the business. I am very excited to be given the opportunity to be a part of the future growth of this iconic brand.”