“We took the wrong fork in the road”: Sunseeker’s interim CEO reveals plan to revitalise the brand

“There’s no getting away from it, the last three years have been challenging,” says Steve Timms, interim CEO of Sunseeker. He acknowledges that the business has been through a difficult period, facing challenging market conditions, a series of ownership changes, Andrea Frabetti’s move from CEO in November 2025 and a teak scandal. But he’s looking forward to Sunseeker running as a “predictable” business.

Timms believes Sunseeker now has the ownership structure it has been missing for years. Instead of distant investors it has an engaged shareholder aligned with management and the wider business.

It “is almost like the textbook scenario you’re looking for from a business,” he says. “You’ve got an engaged shareholder. They have a vision of how that business is going to look for them in terms of its returns on investment.”

Plus a new CEO Scott Millar is set to take the reins in October which Timms – who’ll move back to his role as chief operating officer – welcomes, highlighting how the business is moving forward with greater alignment between shareholders and executives. (Millar already had a stint in the role, stepping in as a temporary measure when Frabetti left to outline future direction.)

New ownership model and stronger governance

Sunseeker’s evolution reflects the challenges of growing from an entrepreneurial, founder-led business into a larger global manufacturer over 50+ years. While the entrepreneurial spirit established by founders Robert and John Braithwaite helped build the company, Timms believes governance did not develop at the same pace as the business expanded.

“One of the things with Sunseeker in the past was the great entrepreneurial spirit of the Braithwaites.

“The business got bigger and bigger, but it probably didn’t have the governance you’re looking for alongside it to run the business.”

Sunseeker’s ownership story

Sunseeker’s story over the past 15 years has been one of repeated resets – and each has brought a different set of priorities. Acquired by China’s Wanda Group in 2013, the company became part of a global conglomerate during a period of investment and expansion, before changing hands in 2024 when US-based Lionheart Capital and Italy’s Orienta Capital Partners took over the business.

That ownership transition was followed by further financial restructuring as Sunseeker faced a tougher market, with lenders Cheyne Capital and Cross Ocean Partners providing new funding in late 2025 and ultimately becoming the company’s long-term owners after a proposed acquisition by a KCP Holdings-led consortium failed to complete.

Each ownership model brought a different emphasis – corporate expansion under Wanda, brand growth under private investors, and now a turnaround and transformation focus is underway.

From uncertainty to predictability

The challenge now is not simply financial stability, but creating continuity after years of change.

This means, with the new ownership in place, the business is looking at stronger governance, structure and operational discipline. The focus will be on creating the framework needed.

“The balance you’re looking for as a business is that you still want to keep that entrepreneurial spirit. But you have to have governance, a framework and discipline,” Timms says.

Pillars of transformation

The company’s five-year business plan, combined with a new product roadmap and turnaround strategy, is based on three pillars covering commercial, product and operations. It’s all about transformation rather than incremental change, as Sunseeker looks to build on its existing strengths and address areas for improvement.

“We’ve got a great brand and great brand awareness in the marketplace, but we know there can be improvements,” Timms notes. The transformation will examine every area of the business.

“It’s safe to say there’s no stone being left unturned.”

Challenges and opportunities are being identified in all areas. The work will enable the company to improve forward planning and better align commercial activity with operations.

“In an ideal world, what you’re looking for in any operation is predictability,” Timms notes.

Embracing KPIs

Underpinning the pillars, performance measures will support improvement rather than restrict decision-making.

“KPIs are not the enemy. They’re there to help drive performance improvements and create genuine, meaningful two-way conversations, understanding what’s going well as well as what’s going badly, and working collectively to correct it.”

Timms adds that the company’s strategy must be understood and owned across the entire organisation, from leadership to the shop floor. Successful delivery will depend on ensuring employees understand their role in achieving the business goals, with strategy translated into clear objectives and deliverables.

“If the strategy gets stuck in a boardroom, it will stay in a boardroom,” he notes.

Move from CEO-centric model to executive specialists

Sunseeker’s also building a new executive leadership team made up of specialists in their respective fields. This new set-up highlights how the company appears to be moving from a CEO-centric model to an executive team.

“You have a fully engaged executive team who are experts in their own right,” Timms adds.

Close alignment between the shareholder and executives will be fostered as the British boatbuilder expands its standing on the international stage as a preferred choice for discerning ultra high net worth individuals.

Timms says there’s no time to relax. “If anything, the workload is going to intensify.”

The return to 100ft-plus superyachts

Already well underway is Sunseeker’s return to the superyacht market. In the recent past, Sunseeker chose to develop its smaller yacht segments – a decision which Timms categorises as a “strategic misstep”.

The company is now refocusing on the segment where it historically built its reputation.

“From a strategic point of view, we’ve probably taken a wrong fork in the road over the last few years.

“We focused on expanding our product portfolio in a slightly smaller sweet spot, maybe between 70 and 100 foot.

“Actually, the biggest growth in the market is in the 100-foot-and-above sector.”

Muscle memory leans into growth opportunity

Sunseeker’s historically had a strong presence in the 100ft-plus sector, and Timms says it has the experience and capability to compete in the market again citing “muscle memory around superyachts.”

Beginning construction on the new 134 was a key milestone in demonstrating the company’s commitment to the segment.

The superyacht sector represents a significant growth opportunity and Sunseeker’s return needs to be demonstrated through action, rather than announcements, he says.

“Over the last few years we’ve had a lot of false starts about coming back into superyachts and not putting our money where our mouth is, not demonstrating it.

“It’s been an important milestone to put the new 134 into build. We’re demonstrating that we’re back in that segment.” Work will begin on the company’s second 134 this September.

Cannes to see global launch, SIBS to see nothing

Timms believes the role of boat shows has evolved as international exhibitions have become larger and more successful at attracting high-net-worth buyers. Plus, covid demonstrated that manufacturers could build direct relationships with customers without relying solely on traditional routes to market.

“Covid was a bit of an eye-opener for how you can connect with customers, you can get customers to your brand without necessarily going to boat shows,” he says and adds that British buyers will travel to big overseas shows reflecting a broader change in how premium yacht brands engage with prospective owners.

While he says that events such as Cannes Yachting Festival and Monaco have great international relevance, Sunseeker is also increasingly encouraging customers to visit Dorset as part of the overall buying journey, describing it as the best way to connect with both the brand and its products. The company is also opening its facilities more widely to journalists and visitors as part of that strategy.

Rather than focusing only on displaying finished products, Timms says the company wants customers to see the wider business, arguing that “there’s more of a story than just buying a boat,” but he confirms that the Sunseeker shipyard will not be exhibiting at Southampton International Boat Show.

Teak sourcing overhaul strengthens compliance controls

Meanwhile Timms says the regulatory action over illegally sourced Myanmar teak has resulted in a complete overhaul of its timber sourcing processes, with the company introducing additional testing and supply chain controls to ensure future compliance.

The business now uses testing to verify teak sources, alongside tighter governance oversight through its executive committee.

“We’ve had to demonstrate that we’ve got the right processes in place, that we’re sourcing sustainable teak. We’re isotope testing our products. We’ve got random batch testing. We’ve got that stamp of authority, of approval, coming through our supply chains.”

He’s confident the company is now “100 per cent compliant”, adding that the changes have also required the business to manage the technical differences between older Myanmar teak and sustainably sourced alternatives.

Older teak from Myanmar plantations had developed characteristics that made it highly consistent as a yacht-building material, including greater density, longer planks and fewer imperfections. Moving to younger, sustainably grown teak initially created challenges around plank length, knots, density and splitting. However, Sunseeker has worked through the transition process and believes the quality gap has been closed.

“You can’t tell the difference now from sustainable teak that we’re fitting. The plank sizes, the number of knots that you can see, the imperfections effectively within your teak – it’s the same as what we were sourcing maybe five years ago.”

Sunseeker’s next phase is about combining the entrepreneurial heritage that built the brand with a more disciplined approach to governance, operations and long-term planning. From strengthening supply chain controls following its teak compliance issues to improving manufacturing predictability and repositioning its product strategy towards larger yachts, the focus is on creating a business that can deliver sustained growth rather than short-term recovery. The challenge for Timms – and Millar and the rest of the team when they arrive – will be in proving that this renewed structure can preserve Sunseeker’s distinctive identity while giving the business the operational foundations required for its next stage.