Sunseeker opened the Cannes Yachting Festival on 8 September with the presentation of the biggest model in its current range. The 45M Superyacht is 45 metres long and 440 GT, which clears the British yard's own previous ceiling by 4.55 metres and 100 GT. Construction starts in the third quarter of 2027 and delivery is set for 2029. Hull one already has a signed letter of intent, and Mark Chinery, Sunseeker's sales director, told the press conference there are three more interested clients.
What the Sunseeker 45M Superyacht will be
The hull is a new semi-displacement platform, drawn for long passages. Exterior styling and naval architecture are both in-house. The interior contract is still open. BOAT International reports that talks with Vickers Studio are in progress for a new contract, so the yard has announced the model before the design package is closed.
Five guest cabins are standard, with a sixth available, for ten to twelve guests and nine crew. The tender garage is transverse and holds a tender plus two jet skis. The aft deck is an open-air lounge, there is a sky lounge with panoramic glazing on the upper deck, and the wheelhouse is raised.
The second model in a new superyacht division
The first model in that division is already in build. The Sunseeker 134 is 40.45 metres and 340 GT, sleeps ten guests in five cabins, and was shown at Cannes in 2025 with an interior by Design Unlimited. Lamination on hull one began in March 2026 at the yard's superyacht site at Osprey Quay in Dorset, the hull came out of the mould by the end of May, and sea trials are pencilled in for April 2027 ahead of delivery that year.
In twelve months a builder whose current range stopped at 40 metres has put together a separate superyacht line with two models in it, one under construction and one sold.
Mark Chinery, sales director, Sunseeker:“The 45M Superyacht represents the next step in that journey.
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The important context
Sunseeker has changed hands twice in under two years. Wanda Group sold Sunseeker to Orienta Capital Partners and Lionheart Capital in November 2024. In July 2026 the lenders Cross Ocean Partners and Cheyne Capital converted their loans into full ownership after a trade sale fell through, and Scott Millar took over as permanent chief executive. We covered that handover in Lenders at the Helm.
Five days before Cannes the picture got worse. SSL, the distributor trading as Sunseeker London and Sunseeker Poole, filed notices of intention to appoint administrators. It carried roughly £260 million in annual sales, 40 outlets across 20 countries and more than half the Poole yard's annual output. Sunseeker pulled European sales in-house and stood up Sunseeker Europe, covering 11 countries from Dorset.
Five days after that, the same company presented the largest project in its current range, a rebrand and a new logo. The brand platform is called The Original Mavericks, and it gives four ranges separate design identities: Predator for performance, Manhattan for contemporary luxury, Ocean for exploration and Superyacht for personalisation.
Scott Millar, CEO, Sunseeker:“Sunseeker became one of the most admired names in yachting by refusing to follow convention.
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Andy Gawthorpe, Chief Commercial Officer, Sunseeker:“We're only just getting started.
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The rest of the Cannes announcements
Two other models came out at the same press conference. The 86 Ocean Enclosed extends the Ocean series: 26.17 metres, 6.56-metre beam, 84,550 kg, four cabins for eight guests and three crew, MAN V8 or V12 power on shafts for a maximum of 26 knots, and an upper deck fully enclosed behind panoramic glass.
The Manhattan 94 had its world premiere at the show, hull one having been launched days beforehand. She is 28.60 metres and 89,278 kg, with five cabins including a full-beam master cabin on the main deck, ten guests and five crew, MTU engines up to 4,000 PS for 26 knots, and a beach club with a garage for a Williams Sport Jet 395.
Gawthorpe also teased a Manhattan 80 and an updated Predator, due at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October and at boot Düsseldorf in 2027.
A letter of intent a year before the keel is laid and three years before delivery is a bet on the company still being there in 2029. Sunseeker has had three sets of owners since 2024 and lost its European distributor last week, and someone has still put their name to hull one.
Source: BOAT International, PressMare, Megayacht News, Powerboat News, YachtBuyer.
