POOLE’s luxury yacht maker Sunseeker is on the verge of being sold to a Chinese property group for £300 million, it is understood.

Daily Echo sources suggest that Dalian Wanda could seal the deal by the end of the month.

Wang Jianlin, chairman and founder of the Beijing-based firm, has been reported as saying it had “bought the best yacht company in the UK”, without mentioning Sunseeker by name.

It is thought that Chinese firms are looking to acquire luxury European brands to satisfy a growing hunger for western tastes in China.

The Echo understands that, if the deal for Sunseeker goes ahead, manufacturing and design operations would continue in Poole, protecting the jobs of 2,500 people who work there.

Staff at Sunseeker and Poole’s business leaders will hope that promise is kept – with worries that jobs could be lost to China eventually.

Mike Clark, president of Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “Provided the manufacturing base remains in Dorset and local jobs are safe, then ownership should not be an issue. Indeed the link with China may be of benefit through increased work from wealthy Chinese buyers who appear to love the Sunseeker brand.”

Irish private equity firm FL Partners currently owns Sunseeker, having taken it over in 2010 through a debt restructuring deal after it posted losses the previous year.

The existing management team and representatives of FL Partners would remain on the Sunseeker boards and founder Robert Braithwaite would continue to be involved and remain as Group President.

Lucy Cooper, president of Poole Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said: “Sunseeker is a very important and integral part of the business community in Poole and if this deal offers long-term security and stability it can only be a positive move.”