Groupe Beneteau
By some measures this is the world’s biggest boatbuilder. Others may argue a case, but, however you look at it, the Beneteau Group (or more correctly, Groupe Beneteau) is one of the major players in the marine leisure industry.
A proudly French, family-run business with tentacles on all continents except Antarctica, Beneteau encompasses 12 well-known yachting brands and produces (at the time of writing) more than 200 models: power and sail, monohulls and multihulls, from small dinghies all the way up to large yachts for sale.
The best-known Beneteau Group brands are its own eponymous Beneteau and Jeanneau, which has been part of the company – although run independently – for many years. Its other brands include Lagoon, Prestige, Monte Carlo Yachts, CNB Yacht Builders, Four Winns, Glastron, Scarab, Wellcraft and Excess. The group grows both organically and by acquisition. Two formerly independent yachting brands that have recently joined it are Delphia Yachts, based in Poland and Seascape, a Slovenian small-boat shipyard.
But there is much more than just yachts for sale - in addition to its boating brands, Groupe Beneteau also owns three companies making holiday homes out of recycled plastic and other materials, a portfolio of boat rental, boat-share and boat club businesses, and a financial services firm that offers credit on purchases across the rest of the group.
At the time of writing, the group’s total annual revenues are around €1.3 billion, with roughly 4 per cent growth per annum and it employs about 8,360 people based in France, the US, Poland, Italy and China. It has 22 production sites in France, two in Italy, two in Poland and two in the US – one in South Carolina and another in Michigan.