Managing superyachts in the South of France might like sound like living the dream, but it was a lifestyle that lost its appeal for husband and wife Josh and Claire Richardson, who exchanged it for starting a business and a family in Ipswich. Four years ago they set up their own business, Superyachts Tenders & Toys.

1. Living the dream on the Cote d’Ipswich
Managing superyachts in the South of France might like sound like living the dream, but it
was a lifestyle that lost its appeal for husband and wife Josh and Claire Richardson, who
exchanged it for starting a business and a family in Ipswich.
“We were fed up with living in France and also
wanted kids,” says Josh who together with wife
Claire moved to Ipswich where they had family
nearby when Claire got a job with Oyster Yachts six
years ago. Although they’d left the South of France
behind, what they didn’t leave behind was the
superyachts and four years ago they set up their
own business, Superyachts Tenders & Toys. As
well as managing superyachts in France they had
worked as captain and chef on sailing yachts
around the world, sailing from the UK to New
Zealand via the Panama Canal, and had spotted an
opportunity for supplying yacht toys (onboard
leisure equipment) and tenders (smaller boats to
support or service larger ones) to superyachts.
“ It makes no difference us being on the
East Coast rather than the South of
France or any other superyacht hub.”
Despite being based in Ipswich very little of the
business has been local (or even in the UK), with
more than 95% coming from overseas. “It makes
no difference us being on the East Coast rather
than the South of France or any other superyacht
hub,” says Josh. “If an order comes in for Thailand
we may as well be in Ipswich as in France. In some
ways it has an advantage; we’ve just, for example,
sent an artic lorry to Holland, which is so easy and
cheap from here.” Since making the decision to go
it alone they haven’t looked back. “We broke even
from our set up costs in just six weeks,” says Josh.

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Published July 2016 by UK Trade & Investment
Their first order was from Spain, supplying a nine
metre tender power boat for the motor yacht
Ecstasea, that had previously been owned by
Roman Abramovich. This got the business going
and has led to business from across the globe, but
in particular from France, Germany, Spain, Italy,
Holland and Norway. “Sometimes people come to
us and say ‘I’ve got this much money and this is
what I want’, whereas others want something
designed specifically for them and we work with
different builders to deliver it for them.”
The rapid speed at which the business took off
meant they were soon faced with the prospect of
employing people, something they had had no
experience of. “The decision to employ people was
quite difficult,” says Josh. “I think we drank a bottle
of wine each the evening after we’d employed our
first person (they now have a growing team of
seven).” It was at this stage that they decided to
seek some professional advice and approached UK
Trade & Investment (UKTI) East. “We’d really
muddled our way through until then but we were
able to bounce ideas off our International Trade
Advisor (ITA) Ashley Almond, which led to us taking
on a full time in-house accountant as the best way
of freeing up my time and she also gave us some
good connections including a list of all the new
build showrooms free of charge.” They also had
support attending the Boat Show and undertook the
Passport to Export programme, which helps new or
inexperienced exporters with training, planning and
support to grow their business overseas.
Says Ashley: “Claire and Josh have built a really
solid business in a very short space of time,
converting their experience, expertise and passion
for boats into commercial success. They have
always been receptive to new ideas and are willing
to make changes when necessary. Their focus on
delivering the best products for the clients with the
highest level of customer service allows them to
compete successfully against other players in the
market and their move into design and manufacture
of their own product ranges will generate massive
gains for them in the long run.”
“ Before we met with Ashley we’d only
done one and now we’ve done 20 to 30;
we’re on our fourth since Christmas
including the sixth biggest boat in the
world.”
Taking this step back allowed them to refocus the
company and they are now concentrating on fitting
out new build superyachts. “Before we met with
Ashley we’d only done one and now we’ve done
20 to 30; we’re on our fourth since Christmas
including the sixth biggest boat in the world. “
There are just 6000 boats in the world that meet
the criteria for a superyacht we are really
interested in, which is typically normally from 50
around metres plus. The average spend on toys
for these boats is £150,000 for toys outfitting and if
you include tenders it’s more like £600,000.
Requests have included submarines, amphibious
quad bikes, jet packs and even drones. They have
also moved into design and manufacturing their
own products, starting with an inflatable landing
craft and this is an area they’d like to expand into
with other products already in design for a new
range of superyacht tenders.
What next
To find more opportunities in other markets, just visit https://www.exportingisgreat.gov.uk/opportunities/ and
use the criteria most relevant to your product or service.
If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact your International Trade Advisor. If you are
unsure who your advisor is or you would like to be put in touch with one, please contact our customer services
team on 01707 398 398 or email EastInfo@mobile.ukti.gov.uk