Companies making superyacht plans

Superyachts often cost about £2m a metre to build

Three companies are discussing a deal that could make Cornwall the UK centre for building multi-million pound superyachts, the BBC has learned.

Pendennis Shipyard and A&P Falmouth are in talks with Babcock Marine at Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth about taking over work to build the vessels.

Babcock said last October it was winding down superyacht building because of an upturn in military work.

If the vessels are built in Cornwall, up to 200 jobs could be created.

Babcock built its superyachts, under the name of Devonport Yachts, at Devonport and its subsidiary yard at Appledore in north Devon.

A team led by former Devonport Yachts managing director Stephen Hills, has acquired rights to the brand name and is looking for a location to build vessels in the future.

'Recession-proof'

The smallest yacht available would be 60m (200ft) long. They would be built on a bespoke basis and would cost about £2m-a-metre, resulting in starting prices of about £120m.

Falmouth has the only other yard in the area big enough to deal with such vessels and Pendennis would provide experience and some of the workforce.

The BBC's South West Business Reporter, Scott Bingham, said potential customers for such vessels would not be discouraged by the current economic climate.

He said: "The belief is that these people are pretty much 'recession-proof'.

"At this top end of the market, they aren't going to be put off and they may even be able to drive a harder bargain.

"The worst that could happen is that they could delay an order. But with run-times of several years from planning to build, even that's far from disastrous."

The hope is the deal would be finalised by the end of the year, and possibly by October.

Cornish business leaders said both the county and the industry would benefit from any deal.

Jermey Edwards of the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce said: "There is a wealth of experience here. So many people are involved in the businesses directly and indirectly.

"I think the benefits for the port and the area would be very good."