Princess Yachts has confirmed it returned to profitability in 2025, completing its operational turnaround ahead of schedule and posting more than 100 per cent growth in EBITDA year-on-year. The Plymouth-based manufacturer says 2026 has opened with momentum maintained across production, deliveries and financial performance.
The results, shared ahead of the formal release of audited accounts, represent a substantial swing from the position documented in our January 2026 analysis of the British boatbuilding sector, which recorded combined losses exceeding £300 million across Princess, Sunseeker, and Fairline over recent years.
Chief executive Will Green described the outcome as a turning point for the business.
Will Green, CEO, Princess Yachts:
Completing our turnaround ahead of plan and returning the business to quality profitability in 2025 was a significant milestone for Princess and has created the platform for the next phase of growth. Returning the business to profitability ahead of plan has given us the confidence to accelerate investments in the future product portfolio.
The Numbers Behind the Recovery
The 2024 filed accounts, published in September 2025, showed revenue of £378 million and a pre-tax profit of £4.9 million, recovering from a pre-tax loss of £23 million the previous year. The 2025 figures, not yet audited, go further: the company describes EBITDA growth of more than 100 per cent and a return to what it terms “quality profitability” ahead of the timeline set when KPS Capital Partners acquired the business in February 2023 with an injection of approximately £54 million.
The turnaround was built on cost discipline, operational efficiency improvements, and a product strategy oriented toward the upper end of the market where demand held through the cycle. At the bottom of the downturn in late 2024, the company had announced around 250 production-level redundancies. A further wave affecting approximately 40 management positions followed in November 2025 as forward orders softened. Both rounds are now behind the company.
Product Pipeline Driving Confidence
The investment phase following the turnaround has accelerated a new-model programme. Five significant projects are currently in build or advanced development: the C48, F54, S74, X90, and the 106 Odyssey.
The X90 is the furthest advanced, with its first hull now in sea trials. The model is scheduled to make its public debut in London in August 2026, followed by a formal launch at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September. More than seven hulls had been ordered ahead of the reveal.
The C48 marks a departure for Princess: the yard’s first outboard-powered, stepped-hull model, developed in collaboration with Olesinski and naval architect Michael Peters. The first hull has emerged from the mould and entered fit-out. Its global premiere is scheduled for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in 2026, where it is expected to be the fastest production model Princess has built.
The 106 Odyssey, announced in October 2025, marks Princess’s return to the 30-metre-plus segment for the first time since the 40M was retired. The model is described as the first in a new family of superyachts. Will Green positioned the announcement in terms of heritage as much as ambition.
Will Green, CEO, Princess Yachts:
Odyssey represents the next significant step for Princess Yachts, a return to building yachts above 100 feet, without losing the elegance of design or characteristic seakeeping that define us. The 106 Odyssey is the first in a new family of 30-metre plus yachts which highlights our vision for a new generation of superyachts that combine exceptional volume with unrivalled comfort, style and attention to detail.
The Context That Makes This Unusual
The scale of the turnaround deserves a moment’s examination. The company reported a £45.6 million operating loss for 2023 and a £69 million pre-tax loss in 2022. Revenue in 2023 came in at £276.3 million despite supply chain disruption; it recovered to £378 million in 2024. The pre-tax swing from a £23 million loss to a £4.9 million profit in 2024 alone was a more than £27 million improvement, with the 2025 EBITDA figure described as more than double the prior year.
For a manufacturer that employs approximately 2,700 people across six Plymouth sites and builds more than 80 per cent of each vessel in-house, this is not a simple cost-cutting story. The company has simultaneously reduced losses, returned to profit, invested in facilities, and launched five new model programmes.
Princess says its Newport Street site recorded a 19.8 per cent reduction in carbon emissions during the period, adding an environmental dimension to what has otherwise been a financially-driven recovery narrative.
Princess Yachts: Recovery in Numbers
2022 pre-tax loss: £69 million
2023 operating loss: £45.6 million
2023 revenue: £276.3 million
2024 revenue: £378 million
2024 pre-tax profit: £4.9 million (recovered from £23 million loss)
2025: Return to profitability ahead of plan; EBITDA growth of more than 100% year-on-year
New models in pipeline: C48, F54, S74, X90, 106 Odyssey
The wider sector picture remains mixed. Fairline was acquired by Bronzewood Capital in March 2025 after entering administration in January that year. Sunseeker continues to navigate the impact of US tariffs on European yacht imports, which have compressed its most significant export market. Princess, operating at a higher volume and with a more diversified distributor network across more than 65 countries, has so far proved the most resilient of Britain’s three largest luxury motor yacht builders.
Whether the 2026 momentum holds through a global trading environment still under pressure from tariffs, fuel costs, and softening discretionary spending in mid-market segments is a question the audited 2025 accounts, due by September 2026, will begin to answer.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
