They are the ultimate status symbol for the rich and famous.
When your helicopter co-ordinates with your boat,
you know you've made it in life.
Welcome to the multimillion-pound world of the superyachts.
When you pull into a port in a boat like this,
of course, you know, that plays to your ego.
You're not going to deny that.
Sunseeker is Britain's biggest yacht builder,
supplying the world's wealthiest customers for the last 50 years.
Each boat is fully customised to meet their clients' every whim.
This is the most highly spec'ed spa tub we've ever built.
But the luxury market has changed in recent years,
hitting the company's profits hard.
Come the crash, most banks didn't want to lend against assets,
such as jets, yachts and so on.
With smaller yacht sales falling,
the company needs to reel in not just the super-rich,
but the uber-rich to get them back in the black.
And in a high stakes move, they're sinking millions into building
a larger, more luxurious boat to net this elite group of buyers.
Larger boats are selling much better than they used to,
and you have to show that you can do boats like this.
Now the pressure's on to fill the order book.
The statistical chances of me selling this gentleman a boat
are about me becoming the Pope. It's not going to happen.
But as the first of the new, fully customised yachts
goes into production,
meeting the extraordinary demands of their new ultra-wealthy clients
stretches the build team to its limits.
What's disheartening is that we've actually built a yacht
with four beautiful bathrooms
and now we've got to, essentially, destroy them.
If they don't deliver,
this multimillion-pound gamble will backfire.
We're selling dreams
and if you don't do it the right way, you won't sell a dream.
MUSIC: Zou Bisou Bisou by Gillian Hills
# Zou bisou bisou... #
For the past 100 years, the Cote d'Azur has been a magnet
for films stars, royalty, sheikhs and oligarchs.
This sun-drenched coastline, stretching from St Tropez to Monaco,
is now THE Mecca for superyacht owners and their A-list guests.
These boats range from £20 million to £200 million
and it can cost over £500 a night just to moor here.
Do you know, I think they say
that about 70% of the world's superyachts
are all in the South of France in the summer.
Don't you think that's incredible? It is busy here.
Anyone who owns a Sunseeker will know Lindsay.
The Cote d'Azur is stunning.
And the best way to see the Cote d'Azur is from the water.
Lindsay is on the front line of the superyacht world.
Originally from Yorkshire, she left the Dales to run Sunseeker France
and has a team of engineers and salesmen on call 24/7.
Any problem with any system on board the boat,
whether it's hydraulic, mechanic, refrigeration,
they call us, that's one phone call,
and then we take care of the rest,
and this is where we look after them and, you know,
preserve that dream, which can be pretty tricky.
Today, Lindsay's making a service call
to probably the most customised yacht the company has ever built.
This was one of the most detailed specifications
that has ever been written
for any Sunseeker that we've ever built.
It's a Marmite boat. You'll either love it or you'll hate it.
Good to see you. Good to see you.
How are you? Great. How's your summer been?
Good, as usual. Yeah, I know.
Welcome back on Black Legend.
Black Legend is an £8 million yacht
with over £1.5 million-worth of added extras.
Every detail was designed and hand-picked
by the oil magnate owner and his teenage children.
And it's now looked after by captain Sean.
I'm still having a battle with the exterior fabrics.
It looks good. Well, from a distance it looks good, anyway.
You don't want to see it close up.
No, OK, OK. It's bleaching. It's bleaching out.
For the captains, making sure these floating penthouses
are kept in showroom condition is critical
and Black Legend uses a specific red colour throughout,
which is suffering in the fierce Mediterranean sun.
The problem with classic stitching, you can see the actual threads
of the normal stitching that was initially red, and has gone white.
Yeah. I've spoken with a number of suppliers
and they said that there is not a single red thread
that will retain its colour.
Soft furnishings aren't the only thing worrying the captain.
Noises, coming from below deck, are keeping the owner awake at night.
HYDRAULIC TYPE NOISE
Hear that? And feel it. I can hear and feel the vibration.
I can hear them. Heard them? Felt them?
I can't feel them. I can't feel a vibration though.
It's not a vibration, it's a clink.
Oh, is it? Sorry, I thought you said a vibration. No, no, no, a clink.
Black Legend also has the biggest television
ever fitted to one of their yachts.
When we're actually cruising...
It wobbles. Wobbles so much. Does it?
I was afraid we'd lose it because we had some bad weather as well.
Terribly...when we're moving.
Lindsay returns to port with a long "to do" list.
But on the way back, they spot a copycat boat.
It's not as good, is it? Clearly, clearly, it's not as good.
CAMERAMAN: Their red's faded as well.
Yep, not quite as much as ours though.
When a lot of these captains have got the boss on board,
they want everything fixed yesterday
and that can be a bit tricky to manage, that expectation, really.
Especially when some of the issues aren't necessarily...
..complicated.
Black Legend, like all Sunseekers, can be found basking
in the most glamorous locations around the world.
But these boats are designed and built much closer to home,
on the south coast of England.
Here in Poole, they employ over 2,000 people,
making a range of boats
that start at three-quarters of a million pounds.
The business grew by making small and mid-size yachts,
but in recent years, there's been a slump in this market,
pushing the company into the red.
Their strategy now is to try and attract new ultra-wealthy clients
who still have cash to splash on life's ultimate luxuries.
So they're taking a huge gamble
on building a larger, more luxurious superyacht.
This is our new 131 yacht. It's a real showcase yacht for us.
We don't have the opportunity,
we don't prototype large-scale yachts like this.
We have to get it right first time.
With three decks, floor-to-ceiling glazing,
accommodation for 12 guests and a starting price of £19 million,
targeting the wealthy cash-rich elite is a shrewd business move.
We can build and launch four 131s in a 12-month period,
which is the equivalent, financially,
to us building 40 small, mid-range boats in the same year.
Our biggest target is to keep
all the production lines running on time.
Delays here will hit the company's fragile profit margins hard.
Mark is responsible for getting the first boat out of the door.
What you're seeing here is really some of the final bits of joinery,
so we're just now making preparations to fit the face items.
And from now, basically, you'll see different teams on board the yacht,
as we do the final assembly,
and, actually, the boat will take shape very quickly.
Production manager Dean is the man
who has to keep the build on schedule.
But the first of the new 131 yachts is causing him sleepless nights.
I've been here many, many years
and it's probably the most bespoke boat I've come across to build
which is, you know, fantastic and new and exciting.
However, it has its ups and downs, as you can imagine.
It's the sheer number of bespoke features that's causing issues.
With £2 million-worth of extras,
more than on any other boat in the shipyard's history,
there's enormous pressure on the build team.
There's 120,000 components on this one yacht,
and a huge percentage of that has to be specified by the client.
It takes time.
Some clients, we've actually managed to do the interior in two days,
but this particular client, it's probably taken seven months.
Today, the American businessman who's ordered the boat
is flying in to meet Mark and make sure
his 30 million is being spent exactly as he ordered.
Because it's such a long build,
there's the expectation we have to manage.
CAMERAMAN: So this client, is he quite easy to manage? This...
Million-dollar question, that one.
Every client will have their challenges,
some more than others, and there's probably not an area on this yacht
that hasn't been...adjusted by the client.
Fiddled with.
The client wants to completely personalise his boat,
so no request is too big, no detail too small.
And in the guest cabins,
a problem's been spotted with the silk lining on the wall panels.
If you look at this lining and then compare it to this one
on the other side, it doesn't have as much of a grain.
I would imagine, knowing how detailed the client is,
this is something that will be picked up.
Potentially, a client may only have two weeks vacation a year,
and we've got to make that two weeks vacation very special.
And there are more detailing issues
causing concern up on the sky deck.
All of the main planks are cut straight to the margin.
These three planks, because of the angle they're cut...
If they were cut on the angle to hit the circle,
they would fall on such a sharp point
that they would be prone to breaking in service.
It's a very sensitive issue with the client.
He brought it up on a photograph two weeks ago,
so we're going to discuss that with him today.
We didn't actually send a picture of this centre feature,
we sent a picture of the entire sky deck
and he's obviously zoomed in to the centre feature
and picked this up on the corner of a photograph.
Eye for detail! Yes.
I've seen a lot worse. Yeah, that's what they pick up on.
This is the most highly spec'ed spa tub we've ever built.
I mean we've got pop-up fountains, LED cup holders,
multiple lights, multiple heaters.
This, I know, the client will be thrilled to be able to see today.
Yeah, very happy. I think there's enough for the client to see
that were very specific to the client.
It's going to be a good day, hopefully, so we'll wait and see.
CAMERAMAN: No shouting? Hopefully not, but I'm always prepared.
Final payment is not made until the yacht has been delivered -
and on this boat, there's still a significant amount to pay.
There are only a limited number of people in the world
who can afford these superyachts,
and with over 60% of new orders coming from repeat business,
it's vital to keep every client happy and coming back for more.
And today, Mark's wealthy client wants to stay anonymous.
I'll take him over the boat now. There's a lot to take in.
There's a lot that's happened since he was last here,
so let's just see how it goes until lunchtime,
make sure that actually he's happy - that's the primary focus of today.
CAMERAMAN: Good luck, hope it goes well. Thanks very much.
Mark spends the rest of the day on board,
looking over every inch of the boat with the client,
in the hope he likes what he sees.
They need his approval on every detail to keep the build on track.
Keeping the clients happy is key
to ensuring future sales of this new boat.
The boats are manufactured in Poole
but are sold by dealers across the globe.
In Mayfair, Sales Director, Chris co-owns Sunseeker London
and runs 20 offices and 100 staff around the Mediterranean.
Yep. You've got a client? Yep. Who's doing the sea trial?
Tomorrow they will speak to you about what commissions
and how it's split. OK.
He knows exactly why the gamble on this bigger boat
is crucial to the company's future survival.
After the credit crunch, the market for smaller boats radically changed.
Going back, many of our clients would take finance.
They may have not had a million pounds in the bank to buy it,
but they could afford the repayments.
Obviously come the crash,
most banks didn't want to lend against assets,
such as jets, yachts and so on, and so for the last four years,
customers have had to use their own cash
and that affected the small boat market.
With the number of billionaires doubling in the past five years,
the 131 is perfectly designed to target the new money.
It's easier to sell the bigger boats.
The client has the money, he knows what he wants,
and when he calls us to visit him,
me and my team would actually close that business, usually on the day.
With a smaller boat, believe it or not,
we can meet people at a boat show, it can take two years to convert.
Next month is boat show season, the biggest sales period of the year,
where the company hopes to make
over 40% of its annual sales in just 30 days.
Hello, hi!
With the shipyard's focus on bigger yachts,
they've flown in sales staff from across the globe,
to learn about the new 131
and work out the best tactics to land the buyers
who can afford a £20 million price tag.
Just a couple of deals on the boil, and it's only quarter to nine.
Chris was born in the East End of London, one of seven.
Despite humble beginnings, he's now part of the jet set.
I would probably meet 30 owners in a year
who would be spending anything from half a million pounds
up to £20 million.
Sure, we have royal families, from around the world, buying boats.
Of course you change when you're meeting maybe a ruler of a country,
you may be slightly more reserved, but really it's the same.
We're there, really... It's an advisory role
of what we would do if you buy that boat.
Most of the salesmen get a basic wage plus 1% commission,
so if they sell a £20 million yacht,
they could earn £200,000 from just one deal.
Do the deal. I'll phone at lunchtime and let you know.
And what deposit? 50% in?
50%, yeah. We talked high deposit.
Over the boat show season,
I'd like to see around £40 million-worth of sales.
We have boats which sell for up to £24 million,
so we only have to sell two of those, fingers crossed.
For the sales team, the key to getting the super-rich to buy,
is to understand what is stopping them
from signing on the dotted line.
Just too expensive.
One of the biggest mistakes a lot of the sales people make is,
when they're talking to a husband and wife at the boat show,
they're focusing on the husband. But it's a big mistake.
My wife ran off with the captain on the last boat.
With divorce, we've got a list of lawyers we can recommend,
who have won very good cases and excellent settlements.
Whether they have £5 million or £50 million to spend,
it's just as important to know why the buyers aren't biting.
OK, so in at number one, we've got "Needs to convince the wife".
Needs to convince the wife? At number one?
Or husband - whichever you go for on that one. Interesting.
We're talking about when you are speaking to a client at a show,
giving just as much importance, if not more,
to the woman as much as the husband,
because she's got to feel loved, she's got to feel important.
If she's standing there like a lemon and we're just talking to him,
it ain't going to happen, she's going to feel offended.
So that's really important.
A certain element of wining and dining them, you know,
getting her a drink.
Although it seems sexist,
there is a precedent for their male-orientated approach to selling.
I can think of two female buyers - not owner's wives,
but two strong females that have walked onto the boat show stand
and bought a yacht from us in their own right.
Two. CAMERAMAN: And how many men?
Hundreds, hundreds, yeah. Yeah.
Matt from the Monaco office has been in sales all his life,
but started out selling tractors.
The psychology of sales doesn't change,
whether you're selling a block of cheese, a Hoover,
a multimillion-pound yacht, a multimillion-pound jet,
but I think, also, the clients like to deal with successful people.
If I turn up to a client's meeting in a Porsche, they like that.
You've got to have the right watch,
you've got to kind of have been a little bit travelled as well.
So it's nice to be able to say, "I know a good restaurant.
"Go to Cinq en Cinq, call this guy Stef, he'll get you a table".
The clients like that added value, as it were.
Selling yachts is not just about the price of the boat.
Berthing, maintenance and crew costs all need to be considered.
As a rule of thumb, the annual running costs of a superyacht
are 10% of the sale price.
It's all about selling a glamorous lifestyle
and one smart way to tempt new customers
is to let them charter these luxury yachts for a holiday.
Carl, is that champagne in the cold boxes?
Yeah, most of it is in. OK, and how many wines are there now?
We've got to pick up some more. Is there tonic?
What's in the fridge up there as well?
Have you swapped the drinks over? Yeah, we need some tonic in there.
This 28-metre yacht is booked solidly through the summer.
So between guests, Captain Paul and his crew,
typically have just one, 24-hour, turnaround day
to make the boat brand new again.
Guests generally get off at 12 o'clock.
Literally as soon as they step off the boat, we're stripping the beds,
get all the laundry picked up.
We try and get as much done as possible.
The cost of chartering this yacht, which sleeps eight guests,
is over £60,000 a week, including fuel and tips.
How are the carpets doing, Kascha?
We have to try and steam clean them in between charters.
Looks nice, just not that practical.
On the turnaround day chef Hanna also has to restock the boat
with the finest food and drink.
And I think, as well, some foie gras burgers.
This is a bit like a hub. You come here,
you always meet other yacht chefs... Yeah.
You always exchange a bit of what happened to you this season,
a few stories, a bit of gossip.
With so many superyachts here,
the local traders specifically cater for the super-rich
and their super-expensive tastes.
We spend so much time on the boats, and you don't go home,
so when you go out and you get to look around and meet people,
it's like a little treat, actually. It's really nice.
Every summer, Paul and Hanna entertain over 100 wealthy guests
from across the globe.
There's people that come on the boat as well
that don't even like the sea or swim,
they just want to be on a boat for some reason, which is fine.
You'll be surprised, as well, by how many people get very seasick.
Sometimes it's not so easy to find what a guest asks for.
For example, a few months ago now,
they wanted to have bread and pastries and baked goods
from this specific one bakery in Paris.
And we were in Corsica.
Hi, there. Can you do me a car for tomorrow
from Nice airport at about 11 o'clock?
They're not super-demanding.
They're demanding in the way that they want good service,
they want to have someone around all the time to offer them drinks,
but they don't ask for ridiculous things.
I think maybe once I booked a table for two people and their dog,
and it was a Michelin-star restaurant,
so that was a little bit strange.
After eight hours of polishing and buffing,
the boat is almost back to showroom condition.
So, how often do you get to enjoy the boat?
Never? Do you mean do we sit in the Jacuzzi and sit round the bar?
Yeah. Never.
It's weird. If you just get some time to relax,
you almost want to get away from the boat.
It's not like I can sit and get drunk,
I'm responsible for the boat all the time.
Even if we've got a few hours off, I'm still responsible for the boat.
Like most boats over 50 foot,
this yacht has dedicated crew accommodation.
I'm not a lover of small spaces, but it's OK.
Yeah, I manage.
Two cabins. The beds are actually big enough to sleep in.
You know, they're adult size and long enough.
Whereas, it's not like that on all boats.
This is luxurious for some crew.
It's still interesting how some guests actually think
that our job is to have a holiday with them, and they say,
"Your job must be the best in the world
"because you get to go on holiday with us",
but it's not really... I mean, that's not the whole story.
When living in such a small space, it's very important the crew get on.
We are boyfriend and girlfriend. Yeah, yeah, we are.
We know a lot of other couples that work on boats, yeah. So...
They tend to be mainly the captain that's in a couple
either with the chief stew or the chef.
Because also the captain is the one hiring, so...
So I'm firing.
THEY LAUGH
So, he can hire his girlfriend if he wants.
The only real time that you spend is when you sleep
and we have bunk beds so... Yeah, so...
THEY LAUGH
Sunseeker's new focus on bigger boats
is part of a long-term strategy.
When the company was founded by Robert Braithwaite 50 years ago,
his passion was for small, fast boats.
This is where it all started.
That's the 17 there, one of the first ones.
We had a little showroom at the front
and I used to come in and try and sell my boats,
and I said to somebody, "Why? I can't sell any boats".
I rang a friend and he said, "Look, you've got to have a range.
"You've only got one boat."
So, in other words, I made three boats out of the 17,
so different types of boats,
and, interestingly, they all sold from that point on.
Robert always stuck to that advice and, over the years,
the company have made more than 150 different models.
Their largest and most expensive boat is the 155-foot 155.
It has over four times the floor space
of the average British home
and costs up to £30 million, including VAT.
It just shows the wealth that's around.
CAMERAMAN: Does that come with a full tank of fuel? Everything.
Ready to drive away, sir. You can have it.
Larger boats are selling much better than they used to
and, if you keep your clientele,
you have to show that you can do boats like this.
CAMERAMAN: Would you spend £30 million on a boat? No.
What makes me tick is taking the dogs out and going to the pub.
So, I don't live this sort of life at all.
You all right? Yes, thanks.
Robert has now sold most of his shares for many millions,
but still gets a buzz from the factory floor.
You can have come up with the idea to build this business
but, unless you have a very good team, you don't go anywhere.
With the continued investment and plans for growth,
the company take on over 30 new apprentices every year.
Today, three new trainees are joining.
I'll give you a brief tour of the factory.
Production Manager, James, starts by explaining the basics.
In our type of boat building, we start off with a mould.
It's just like a jelly mould,
so we've got two halves, the hull and the deck.
Basically, the way we mould our boats,
you lay in your glass fibre inside of your jelly mould,
so what you can see here is layers of glass fibre,
held together with resin.
Everything we do here is done by hand.
This is boat building at its core.
This type of fibreglass production became popular in the 1960s
and is now the most common way to build boats.
All the boats here start life as a bucket of resin,
creating lightweight, durable hulls, relatively cheap to produce,
allowing clients to spend more on extravagant customisation.
On this production line, nine yachts are always under construction
and each one takes over 10,000 man-hours to build.
What's going on specifically right now,
is they've started to prepare for the bathing platform legs,
so that's what those holes are, and that's the sort of thing
you'll start off with as apprentices.
What happens when you drill a hole in the wrong place? The wrong place?
First of all, I get really upset,
and if you do do it, once you've finished apologising,
especially to me, is to learn from it.
It's more than you think, isn't it?
When you kind of start laying it out, it's quite an involved process.
Across the road, on their new production line,
the build of the new 131 yacht
is turning into one of the most challenging
in the shipyard's history.
The client's visit didn't go exactly to plan.
The whole day was very exciting.
There's always challenges, we had some challenges,
and now we've got to get on and get them ironed out.
CAMERAMAN: What kind of challenges?
The client's requested a few extras,
which we're discussing with him at the moment.
Mark now has to go through the long list of changes with Dean,
to work out how they will impact the build.
He's asked if we can put electric curtains in, instead of manual.
The client said, "Look, I don't want to have to get out of bed
"to open them and see the sunlight". Makes sense.
He doesn't want to walk into a bathroom and see a toilet control,
and that's the issue we've got with the day heads for the downstairs,
because this is a special toilet
with heated seat and massaging function.
OK? Perfect.
He's requested that all the lights are changed
to dual colour - white and blue.
So, I've explained the enormity of that now, at this stage.
You know, we've got over 200 lights fitted.
An important part of Mark's job is to make sure
the client's alterations don't affect Dean
and his build team's morale.
You'll be pleased to know there's no change here.
Every fixture and fitting on this yacht is bespoke,
including the natural marble chosen for the guest bathrooms.
On his visit, the client rejected the stone
but, for now, Mark doesn't want to worry Dean about it.
This particular stone was hand-picked.
In the client's eyes, I think they felt that it should be
a little bit plainer, where there's no veining.
To give you an example, if you look at the splashback along here,
if you notice, over that side, you've got
a little bit more mineral content, a little bit more mottling,
and as you move forward, it becomes very plain.
And that's the type of thing that the client's picked up
in he felt it shouldn't be uniform,
but, actually, it should be a little bit more consistent on those areas.
Yeah, I think if you take that slab in its entirety,
if you add up the amount of little tiny grey detail,
it's too much for the client.
It's just not as clean - and I think "clean" is the best word to use -
it's not as clean as he anticipated.
And if that means that, between us, we're going to replace
certain parts of the marble, then that's what we'll need to do.
For just the stone elements on a yacht like this,
you could be looking at anything between £90,000 to £130,000,
just on marble.
Replacing the marble would have a huge impact.
Apart from the enormous costs,
it would also create further serious delays.
What we don't want to do is impact the build crew time,
because it is a production line,
we've got to make sure that the boats behind it...
We have three 131 yachts behind it in build at the moment.
And a delay here can change
the whole programme for the next 18 months.
Before I go, I've got to send five emails to this client,
so I try and do them in batches
and then by the time I wake up at six o'clock,
I'll have all the responses in my inbox, so ready to go again.
Here we go again tomorrow.
# Si bon, si bon... #
In the South of France,
the charter crew are making their final preparations.
# C'est si bon Si bon, si bon
# Lovers say that in France... #
The guests arrive in a couple of hours
and, for Paul, first impressions are everything.
I like lines in the top of the shirt which don't always come when you...
And I like lines, creases in the trousers, so...
When people first turn up,
they need to think that the boat looks as much as it costs.
# Si bon, si bon Because it's... #
When the guests arrive, I like all four crew to be ready,
so it looks like we've been waiting two hours in exactly this position.
# Every kiss, dear... #
Today's guests are a family group from London
and it's the second time this year
they've chartered with Paul and Hanna.
It's definitely easier with repeat clients.
You don't have the uncertainty of when they first arrive,
you also know that they were happy last time, had a great time,
so you were doing something right for them then. It's much easier.
Good morning, good morning! Hello.
Good to see you, how's it going? I'm not bad.
...really lucky.
Hello, how are you?
Hi, welcome back, good to see you.
Let's go with the bubbles, the bubbles. Yes, white or rose?
One of each. One of each? Certainly.
Cheers, guys. ALL: Cheers.
Best of times.
# Si bon, si bon The Left Bank
# Si bon Si bon... #
I have lots of choices in life, I'm very fortunate,
and I'm completely hooked on this.
I mean, I'm just completely hooked.
It is very expensive but it's worth every penny.
When you pull into a port in a boat like this,
people are going, "Who's that? Who's this?"
Of course, you know, that plays to your ego.
I mean, you're not going to deny that.
But, um, it's just part of the experience.
You're catered for in every way possible,
you haven't got to worry about anything.
Um, it's... Yeah, it's amazing.
And also you do stop off in places,
so if you do want to get off, you still have that option.
We're always eyeing up the other boats
and we saw one last time, didn't we,
that had a colour-coordinated helicopter on it. Yeah.
When your helicopter coordinates with your boat,
you know you've made it in life. Yeah.
It's hoped that charter customers like this
will one day become buyers.
A mile along the coast, Lindsay, manager of the French sales office,
is setting up for one of the most important sales events
of the year - the Cannes Yachting Festival,
which starts in two days' time.
By the close of play today,
we fully expect it to look like a boat show, ready.
Carpets laid, furniture in position...
However, we've got Chris, who arrives tonight at midnight,
and so if he comes to the stand tomorrow and doesn't like it,
he will start moving boats around,
and then that's when we lose all that time that we've gained.
The show attracts super-wealthy clients from all over the world,
and Sunseeker are positioned next to their main competition,
fellow British brand, Princess Yachts.
The Princess V72. Is that a direct competitor?
Some say. Some say.
The company has one of the biggest stands here.
It's a huge operation, costing one million euros,
with a team of 30 getting 12 yachts, worth over £50 million,
ready to sell. And the stakes are high.
It's our primary sales event of the entire year,
and it's really one of the only places
where a client can, for example, jump in between the 55,
straight onto the 65 and straight onto the 75,
to work out which boat actually may be best for them.
Jen, how much are these models?
Um, the one in our office is insured for around £40,000.
Yeah, let's not drop it then, eh?
With just a model costing more than a family car,
the investment is huge,
so Lindsay needs to get everything right for her boss's arrival.
It is under control. We're about half a day ahead,
so the sooner you get here and tell us what you want moving,
the better, to be honest.
Don't turn up at six o'clock and tell us
you want all these boats moving around.
With time running out before the show opens,
the boats are buffed and polished to perfection...
Stainless polish, if you can get it, Jen.
..and Lindsay's attention to detail becomes obsessive.
Someone's run the water
and you can see the water marks, in this side here.
It's still got dust here on the tap, can you see that?
It's got to be perfect.
Who's going to forgive you for having water marks in the sink
and opening up a cupboard and it's not immaculate?
You know what I mean? Everything's got to be immaculate.
Some boats, there just aren't enough pillows.
And Lindsay has one last hurdle to clear -
getting the approval of her boss, Chris.
First impressions, good. Good, OK.
If I was a client walking along here... Yeah?
..I'd be going, "Wow", and I'd be wanting to go on.
Flags look good. I still think the flags, for the future,
need to be full-length flags. People don't look up in the air
unless they're looking for aeroplanes. Yeah.
I don't think either or changing boat positions here,
there's no need. Yes!
CAMERAMAN: Are you happy? Yeah, overall, yes.
I always wanted to be here for the very start of setup,
but over the years, I've slowed down and left it to the team to do.
No! Not bad, not bad.
It's like getting an A from the teacher.
If the gamble on the new bigger boat is to pay off,
they'll need confirmed sales of the 131 model at the boat show.
But in Poole, completing the first one is still a long way off.
With an endless choice of bespoke extras a key selling point,
this client has gone to town...
..including an item that's not normally seen
on a seafaring vessel - a water wall.
With lights? With lights. OK.
Have we got any power to juice it up?
Bit of power. We've got some power.
SOUND OF RUNNING WATER
What do you think?
I think we're all going to need the toilet in about five minutes.
Basically, the concept came from a trade show in the US,
which the client visited, and he sent me an email
with some Pinterest images of water walls and bubble walls,
with the caption, "This would look fantastic in the yacht".
OK, well, it's...
From my initial impressions, it's better in,
looks better with the lights, once it's framed.
This afternoon, Mark has an important visitor
coming to see the yacht - Rick, the dealer from Florida,
who originally brokered the deal.
The customer is extremely detailed.
I'm lost for words when I try to describe his detail.
The customer's extremely detailed,
um...in particular, about every little item.
Rick has to keep the client updated on the progress of the build
and ensure he's happy with every detail
to guarantee the final instalment and his commission get paid.
One very, very important thing we do constantly...
Nothing pays as much as getting the photos. The photos are key.
It's like having baby shots.
The customers, I think they appreciate that.
I mean, how often do you get that request? I get it like every day.
In the cabins, Rick has noticed an issue with the lighting design
he's sure the client will question.
If you come over here and look at it through the angle,
you can see the light bulbs.
Well, maybe the client won't notice that. Oh, he will.
I'd put money on the table
that it'll be the first thing the client notices.
Basically, you're going to need a stainless back
that's probably going to cost as much as the light.
It did take me... I looked at it for one second, I'm like...
You didn't want to say anything, did you? I was like that's too bad.
I'm not taking a picture with the light.
No, probably best not. Oh, Mark.
Rick is also part of the team
trying to resolve the client's marble concerns.
Um...
Well, I think it's stunning.
However, the client may be looking at it a little bit closer.
Closer? More detailed.
There's just one last feature to see -
the latest addition to the boat.
Wow.
I think the customer will be very happy. I, um...
It's creative, it's a push, it's new.
What happens when it's off? How do you cover it?
Because it's probably not that attractive when it's off.
When it's off, it basically becomes a mirror.
Or you can do just the lights.
You can do just the lights and it gives it... Mmm.
It's a feature but it's half a feature.
Is the top open?
So, it's just a piece of PVC tube with holes in it, right?
To have a similar water wall fitted to your yacht,
you can expect to pay £10,000 to £15,000.
# It's the good life... #
Despite endless complications and delays to the schedule,
the company needs to keep the order book full.
To guarantee its future, they must sell four 131s every year.
In Cannes, the sales team are raring to go.
Relieved, relieved that we're here, that we've done it,
we've made it, it looks immense.
Everybody's happy, and now, yeah, I do feel calm,
I feel an overriding sense of calm, if I'm honest,
because now we get on with doing what we do best, selling boats.
Hi, Sean, good morning, you OK?
Waking up, you know, at three o'clock this morning,
you always have... Is it going to be a good show?
So, yeah, you have nerves, you've got to sell some boats.
If any salesman moans to be at a boat show,
they should not be in the business. What's your expectations?
I'd like to see around ten boats sold.
The show is known for its international clientele.
This is a really new yacht to our range...
But one of the first customers to arrive
are the Johnson family from Liverpool.
So, Peter, if you buy a boat, we will take care of everything.
We can look after the boat, we have the service down here,
if you want captains on beck and call, whatever you want to do.
Stop it, stop it! LAUGHTER
The pressure of a decision.
Sometimes with an older person,
they don't want the worry of the boating,
so we will do full management.
We can do everything. It will be ready to go.
They will arrive back in after a day out of the islands off Cannes
or Saint Tropez, and our cleaners will be on there,
getting the boat ready for the next day.
Lindsay's showing them around.
Lindsay is charming them, in a lovely way.
She's natural, yeah, and people like Lindsay.
And I think, in selling, if you're liked, you succeed.
She knows her stuff. CAMERAMAN: But she's not on commission?
No, she gets paid a fortune.
Nice to meet you. And you too.
He didn't sign the contract today, so there will be a letter,
either from myself or David to him tomorrow,
saying, "Dear Peter, you owe it to the kids to buy them a boat.
"It's enjoyment, it's only money."
See you later.
It's very rare you'll get anybody walking onto the stand
who's going to part with X amount of millions with a complete stranger.
So what it's about, in the background,
is about building relationships,
it's about introducing the brand to them,
about people feeling secure, I guess.
As the start of the show, I'm very, very happy.
People are not moaning about recession,
are not moaning about their shares, they've lost money.
In fact, there's a story there.
When the share market...the stock market goes down,
we have clients saying, "You know what? I'm gonna buy a boat.
"It will lose a bit of money, at least I'll have some enjoyment".
Cannes runs for six days,
but overlaps with another show that, perhaps surprisingly,
can be an even bigger money-spinner for the company -
the Southampton Boat Show.
Good morning, everybody! ALL: Good morning!
Robert, the shipyard's founder,
has been rallying the troops here for the past 30 years.
The reason we're here is to sell boats.
So, it is really up to you salesmen, and I can tell you what,
in life, if you have the passion,
if you really believe in what you should be doing, you will succeed.
Thank you, everybody, and make it very successful.
We can put boats on display, we can put them at heights,
different heights, which makes them look awesome, absolutely awesome.
We're selling dreams and if you don't do it the right way,
you won't sell a dream.
David is the man who first gave Chris
a job selling boats 35 years ago
and they now run the Sunseeker London dealership together.
Normally, we'd expect to sell £50 million-worth of boats
at this show.
If they love it enough, they want it,
and common sense in business is put aside
and people say, "Am I crazy to buy a boat?"
and I say, "Of course you are", and that's what makes it special.
It's lovely.
Oh, look, here, perfect man. Can I stop you?
Why do you buy boats from me? There is only one reason.
Because you are the nicest man in the world!
No it's not! Do you know why he buys boats from me?
David, kiss, kiss. Where's your wife? Here.
This is the wife, this is the wife. May I present Sally?
David Barraclough is charming, lovely.
His wife's much more attractive.
The problem with David is he's a bit strong on price,
but ignoring that, this woman is the woman in my life.
Absolutely, the other woman.
The statistical chances of me selling this gentleman a boat
are about me becoming the Pope. It's not going to happen.
But it will lead up to banter.
You know what? It's almost worth me buying a boat now!
Yeah, but here's a problem for David.
We've done rather well in Cannes.
Every boat you wanted to buy...
Has gone? Has gone. I hear this story every year!
No, you can't buy a boat now, we don't have anything to sell you.
The same story. OK, we'll go to Princess then!
You won't go to Princess. You'll have to beg and plead and I might...
Kiss his feet! Please, please find me a boat!
Having left the rigors of Cannes,
Lindsay and Chris have flown in for the delights of Southampton.
From the Cannes Boat Show, wearing white trousers,
into a suit, so we brush up quite well.
Here, everyone is welcome to walk around the boats,
but it's in the VIP lounge that the deals are done.
All my friends, I would say, apart from one or two, are clients.
That's what happens with clients. They become your friends.
So, I sold these people a boat 30 years ago. So...
They've had some new ones since, but...
So, we've got barbecue, a griddle, refrigeration...
I don't take ice in my drinks, so... Was this made for the client?
That's standard. Is it? Yeah, standard. That's good, isn't it?
I have a smaller model, which is in the South of France now,
so this is a step up, but also loads more room, use it as an apartment.
It's early days yet, but they're buyers.
I will try to actually get him to sign today.
I will put your name on that early slot
and then I'll send you... Later on today,
I'll send you the two figures, I'll put the part-exchange price down.
While Chris takes a softly, softly approach,
David is in a more bullish mood.
Stephan will go and find out a price
for the present boat here on the stand. Yep.
For the past three years, Mrs Barraclough has come to Southampton
in the hope her husband will buy a new boat.
But every year, he's walked away from David's deal.
The deal we offered you in January still exists.
If you are willing to buy this boat -
and we will ask for 3.1 million and your boat -
I will sell you this boat with those other conditions.
David Barraclough, the man in my life at the moment.
I have only but one question - are we going to do a deal?
We are going to have a wander round and come back in an hour.
We've never bought a boat at the first bid, at the first price.
And I don't like points. But what if I sell it?
What if I put the price up? That's happened to you twice.
If you sell it, you sell it. That's life, isn't it?
He's like an old record, Sally. He's going round and round in circles.
Sally, why did you marry this man? I don't know.
Let's talk the price. Let's talk price. Go on, go on.
Give me, not one of your ridiculous prices,
because I will walk away from you again.
Twice I've done it, right, and twice you've done it.
I'm fed up with you. I love you, I want you to buy this boat.
What do I do? I want to buy it. Go on... 2.9.
You know I can't do it. I don't! You do know.
But what you also know
is I've always left a little bit in the...
I always know that. So we're agreed at three?
So have we bought a boat? Yep.
Yes! Yes! Hey-hey!
SALLY WHOOPS
This time we mean it, we're doing it. Yes!
Come on then, congratulations. Let's go to bed!
I can't sleep with you, it's on television!
I'm so pleased, honestly, David. It's been a journey.
Do you know, I'm really pleased for you, not for me.
I am pleased that finally you got what you should have had a year ago.
As two major boat shows
and 30 days of intense selling draw to a close,
it's the moment of truth.
The unit numbers - one, two, three...
Probably 28 boats, 28 boats I would think. 27?
Hopefully, 40, that's very good, that's a high number.
The London office have sold over £40 million-worth of boats,
good news for everyone.
If someone says to me,
"On commission this year, I will earn 300,000,"
the good news is the company's benefited from their sales.
That's what we want.
But for the ones that really are on a mission to succeed -
if that is success - of private school, a high quality car
or two or three in their driveway,
a wife that occasionally runs amok and buys shoes
she shouldn't really spend money on -
if they want that, that's good for us, and you know what?
I'm delighted to give it to them.
I don't think we're flash. We enjoy nice things, like our clients do.
The sales team may be able to relax, now their bit is over,
but in the Poole shipyard, it's a different story.
In just two days, the buyer of the first 131
is flying in from New York.
The hope is he will be happy
and sign off the boat for delivery and final payment.
But a decision about the marble bathrooms still needs agreeing.
He's coming out anyway, we've got nothing to lose.
I'd rather seal it and he say... It adds to the impact. Yeah.
Dean has got his men to complete the bathrooms,
in the hope that when the client sees them finished,
he will leave them as they are.
We don't really want to be taking stuff out at this stage of the build
because it creates more damage, shower doors end up getting damaged
and we end up with more aggro than what we started with really.
That's not going to be a nice job to do.
While Dean's hoping the marble will stay,
Mark is preparing for the worst.
'We basically got a decision from the client
'with the... Well, it's the alternate marble that we sourced
'and then hopefully, we can give the go-ahead
'for them to start manufacturing the replacement.'
It's very rare that we'll have a client
so, so focused on some of the detail, on stone.
But we've discussed with the client, we've agreed a way forward
and we are going to replace it.
What's disheartening is that we've actually built a yacht
with four beautiful bathrooms
and now we've got to, essentially, destroy them.
In the call we had with the client, he feels very bad.
He really does feel bad, genuinely.
But not bad enough to accept the stone, but he feels bad for us.
CAMERAMAN: So how much is all this going to cost you?
In total, probably in the region of £100,000.
We've actually come up with a solution now to share the cost.
We want the client to leave happy and walk on the boat again,
in a few weeks time, when it's replaced and say, "Wow".
It's the morning of the client's final visit.
The team are way behind schedule, so it's crucial all goes well.
This is the worst part really.
What we don't want today is any major changes.
There are little things we could do -
give him an extra cupboard or a shelf here and there,
but at this stage of the build, we are just trying to finish the boat,
get it to the end date and get it delivered.
CAMERAMAN: A big day today?
Very big day today, customer's coming. How's everyone been?
On edge a little bit, so we're just waiting to see
if he does make any changes, but time will tell when he arrives.
PHONE RINGS
Good morning.
The client was due to fly in and be at the shipyard around mid-morning,
but today he's arrived early.
OK.
That's an excited man, I think.
The client is here with his wife
and the interior designers from New York,
so I think they've been to Paris to choose some items
for their apartments and houses in New York
but, perhaps, they've chosen some stuff for the yacht as well.
So, it'll be a good day, hopefully, and he'll be here tomorrow
and they're leaving tomorrow night.
With the stakes high and the sale of a £20 million yacht in the balance,
Mark needs this to be the client's final visit
without any further purchases to scupper it.
MUSIC: The Good Life by Tony Bennett
For the London dealership in Mayfair, there's great news -
it's officially their most successful sales year ever.
I met a man today that is on his third wife.
He wants to buy a Sunseeker. I don't want him on his fourth.
He's on his third wife. So you've got to be a good boy as well.
I don't want any divorces. Hang onto him.
I need him to have money to buy another boat.
For the sales team, the recession is now just a distant memory.
The property guys are back, they're doing very well.
They may have another business but they made money in property.
That is the boat money, that's the toy money, we're seeing that.
I go out with these guys two or three times a year.
I shoot with them, I sail with them, and I like them. They're good.
The biggest thing for me is that, when something goes wrong,
which of course it does, it's sorted out, quickly.
We've ordered more boats for 2017, more than '16,
so we are confident the market is back.
But in the Poole shipyard, the champagne is on ice,
as the client is still not satisfied.
The illuminated cup holders, we won't fit.
The 131 is two months past its delivery deadline
and the build team are now working through the night,
seven days a week.
It's been a long year.
I think we're getting extremely close now and it is a journey.
It's taken 13 months and over 100,000 man-hours
to get Sunseeker's new flagship yacht finished,
but it's been worth it.
It's nice to see it in this position, isn't it? Yeah.
After all this time. Now that's come out extremely well.
Hopefully, that's one tick in the box.
We did mention to him, he might want to go to the toilet
every 15 minutes, but there you go.
In the guest cabins, Mark has managed to fix the silk lining
and lighting design to the client's approval.
We've manufactured a special shroud to go behind the bulb.
It's really removed that dominant reflection.
And up on the sky deck, the hot tub is ready for action.
This must be the highest-specified Jacuzzi that we've ever done,
certainly in my 22 years here.
The last few weeks have been pretty busy.
For me, personally, it's been tough.
'It's had its tensions at times, as we do with many clients,
'but it's because the desire to get something 100% right
'carries a lot of passion, a lot of weight.'
And, of course, now, if we were to do this again,
and, hopefully, this client will come back
and buy a larger yacht, we're better prepared.
You know, we'll do things slightly differently,
we'll work more in tune with the client
and we'll actually have a better understanding
of those expectations from the start.
MUSIC: Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra