Luxury motor yacht maker Riviera sets its sights on growth in 2024

After 43 years in business, Gold Coast-based Riviera Australia continues to make a splash overseas with demand growing for its luxury motor yachts.

Australia’s largest motor yacht builder Riviera Australia is scrambling to keep up with the multimillion-dollar post-Covid wave of overseas demand.

At the most recent Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the company sold 25 motor yachts, notching up almost $70m in sales.

The Gold Coast-based company showcased its new 585 SUV at what was the world’s largest boat show, and the company’s owner and chairman Rodney Longhurst expects demand to continue to be strong this year.

The yacht builder sold almost 150 motor yachts worth more than $300m last financial year but Mr Longhurst would not be drawn on specific growth expectations, although he expects an increase in sales in the current financial year.

“We are the largest motor yacht builder in Australia and in our size range the southern hemisphere,” he said.

“We’re growing our people, we are growing our infrastructure, we are growing our plant and equipment to be more efficient, effective and productive in manufacturing our world-class boats.

“We certainly have the demand to grow but we will only grow at a pace that we can continue to build the boats at the highest standards that we set ourselves.”

About 60 per cent of Riviera Australia’s motor yachts are sold to overseas buyers and the vessels range from 39 to 78 feet, with price tags ranging from $1.1m to $6.9m.

Its top-of-the-range 78 Motor Yacht Riviera has three levels, three bedrooms, four state rooms and can sleep up to eight people, plus crew. It can travel more than 1000 nautical miles at 30 knots and has numerous entertaining areas, as well as electric blinds and a garage.

Riviera recently revealed its newest model – the 58 Sports Motor Yacht, worth $3.8m, which Mr Longhurst said “will go great”.

Riviera’s 585 SUV.

It will have its US premiere at next month’s Miami International Boat Show in Florida.

“We’ve had over 20 pre-orders and considering the first one was just nearing completion (before Christmas) that’s a pretty good forward order,” he said.

“It’s right in that very popular size range from a marina berth point of view or docking at someone’s waterside home.

“And being our latest model its got the best of 43 years of knowledge instilled in it.”

Riviera was established in Sydney in 1980 by boating legend Bill Barry-Cotter and a year later relocated to the Gold Coast.

In 2002 Mr Barry-Cotter sold Riviera to Singapore’s GIC Special Investments and Gresham Private Equity.

Riviera was placed into receivership in 2009 during the global financial crisis and in 2012 it was purchased by Mr Longhurst, who is the son of Dreamworld founder John Longhurst, and is also a qualified builder and joiner by trade.

Mr Barry-Cotter later launched Riviera’s rival motor yacht builder Maritimo, which is a short distance from Riviera’s base in Coomera.

Over its 43 years Riviera has built almost 6000 boats and its Coomera boatbuilding complex, on a 16.8ha site, employs almost 1000 people.

The company is one of the Gold Coast’s biggest employers, and Mr Longhurst said they were always on the lookout for quality tradespeople and apprentices.

“Good marine industry personal want to live here. It’s a great place to live,” he said.

“We have certainly increased on site significantly over the last few years. We already had a facility upgrade in the works well before Covid came on the scene.”

Mr Longhurst said he was not interested in the super yacht market.

“We’ve decided to specialise in the 39 feet to 78 feet range. We could we go a little bit smaller or a little bigger, absolutely we could, but we’re choosing to stay in that range and that’s where we want to specialise in,” he said.

“Our factory, machinery and skilling of our team is all to boats of that size and can keep on improving in that space.

“We reach out to a broad range of buyers and we work very hard to make our boats family friendly and small enough for the owner to operate without a crew.”