Helping Sunseeker London prosper
Longstanding UHY London client, Sunseeker London Group, is a phenomenal story of growth and prosperity.
When setting up Sunseeker Group London, an independent organisation for the sale of Sunseeker boats, lifelong business partners David Lewis and Christopher Head were in no doubt that their plans to dominate the European sales market would be a success.
They weren't wrong! Following a leap of faith by David and Christopher, Sunseeker London is now the largest distributor of Sunseeker boats worldwide, year on year selling over half of the Sunseeker production.
Today David and Christopher remain Managing Director and Group Sales Director respectively. 30 years since the creation of Sunseeker London Group, the business now comprises 39 offices in over 20 countries. With growth at the heart of the business, the founders have developed a strategy which is underpinned by three core principles that are key to the company’s success; to expand into new territories, to build its online brokerage platform and to control the stock of boats in the supply chain.
From their headquarters in Mayfair, Sunseeker London sells to an international clientele across the world and are the official and leading distributor for new and pre-owned luxury Sunseeker motor yachts, ranging from 38ft to 161ft. Despite the pandemic having a significant impact on operations, including the temporary shutdown of shipyard production in the UK and the cancellation of major UK and international boat shows, the group continues to perform exceptionally well, employing over 100 people and recording a turnover of over £173m in their latest set of accounts.
Demanding more than just an accountant
As the exclusive distributor for Sunseeker products in the UK and major parts of Europe and Northern Africa, Sunseeker London owns the rights to the whole of the Mediterranean Seas. This means clients can buy a boat in Germany, keep it in Spain and then sail to Egypt for their holiday.
Operating across borders
Sunseeker London is a complex business demanding more than just accountancy skill from an audit partner, with many different transactions that can happen in different countries and with different supply businesses.
Unlocking global opportunity
Sunseeker is unique in having offices in all territories, helping the business stay ahead of its competitors. The group also has a number of subsidiaries in their territories, to provide selling opportunities and after-sales support.
Two decades of support
UHY London was appointed as auditor to Sunseeker London Group more than 20 years ago. Since then, we have provided ongoing support in the form of group audit and tax compliance work, as well as other advisory services as required.
Over recent years, Sunseeker London has expanded its reach to various territories. We have been able to introduce them to our member firms across the UHY international network, which consists of offices in 340 business centres in over 100 countries, to help the group to set up various regions.
In Spain, for example, member firm UHY Fay & Co now audits the subsidiary accounts in accordance with the legal regulations in Spain, as well as providing our London office with consolidation reports complying with international auditing standards. “We could not manage a business like ours without the support of UHY and its consistency of approach.” says Managing Partner, David Lewis.
Being part UHY international has also allowed our UHY team to draw on local knowledge from UHY member firms, including in Croatia, Germany, Portugal and Spain, where Sunseeker London’s subsidiaries require particular advice.
In each country the marine, legal and tax laws vary and can change often so our London UHY team ensure they stay close to Sunseeker’s development plans and speak regularly to our international colleagues to ensure we are able to act as a sounding board for Sunseeker London and provide advice to help them succeed.
David, Christopher and the Sunseeker London team have been instrumental in bringing the Sunseeker brand to where it is today. This has been recognised for the past 14 years by Sunseeker International awarding the Sunseeker London Group ‘Overall Distributor of the year’ for their ‘Best in the world customer service’.
“Sunseeker is an international brand at the level of Bentley, Ferrari or a top hotel group like the Ritz,” says David. “To reinforce this, we need to give our clients experiences that money cannot buy, so we recognise that what we do around our commercial offer is critical. It is not enough just to provide a fabulous product – we must add even more magic to the customer experience that goes beyond the boat.”
With undiluted passion, Sunseeker is much more than just a brand of boat. It is a lifestyle and a family. And as Sunseeker London’s advisers, we have been delighted to support David, Christopher and their team on their phenomenal journey of growth and prosperity to date. The team at Sunseeker London Group is extremely passionate, driven and focused, which makes them a pleasure to work with.
“We could not manage a business like ours without the support of UHY and its consistency of approach.”