Britain’s biggest luxury yacht-builder is being put up for sale even as a string of the world’s most valuable private vessels are being seized by governments clamping down on their sanctioned Russian owners.

Sky News has learnt that L Catterton, the private equity group, has hired bankers at Macquarie to find a buyer for Plymouth-based Princess Yachts.

A formal process is yet to get underway but is expected in the coming months, according to City sources.

Princess’s valuation was unclear on Friday, although one insider indicated that it was unlikely to represent one of L Catterton’s most successful exits.

The business was founded in 1965, and distributes through a 50-strong global network.

It has been backed by L Catterton and its predecessor entity since 2008, making it a lengthy period of ownership by the standards of private equity backers.

Princess’s boats have become symbols of luxury among the world’s super-rich, although in recent months a number of yachts have been seized by authorities around the world as they seek to prevent sanctioned Russians from retaining their most prized assets.

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During the pandemic, it negotiated a cash injection from its controlling shareholder as well as a refinancing of its debt.

L Catterton was formed in 2016 from a partnership involving LVMH – the luxury goods manufacturer which is in the process of acquiring Tiffany – and Bernard Arnault, the tycoon who heads the French conglomerate and ranks among the world’s wealthiest people.

Spokespeople for L Catterton and Macquarie both declined to comment.

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