Jenson Button buys a £4.5m motoryacht at PSP Southampton Boat Show

Jenson Button and Eddie Jordan aboard a Sunseeker yacht. Jenson Button and Eddie Jordan aboard a Sunseeker yacht.

FORMULA 1 star Jenson Button insisted he has given up his “playboy lifestyle” despite splashing out more than £4.5m on a luxury motoryacht at the Southampton Boat Show .

The 32-year-old racing ace made a guest appearance alongside driver-turned-pundit Eddie Jordan at the Boat Show ’s opening day to help launch two new boats from Poole-based boat builder Sunseeker.

Button, who lives in Monaco, said he was eagerly anticipating delivery of a 92ft Sunseeker 28, the biggest and most expensive boat at this year's show, insisting it would be a “family boat”.

“I’m just looking forward to getting it,” he said. “It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had a boat. That is a proper boat – 28 metres. I’m very excited about it. “I’ve left my playboy lifestyle behind me so this is going to be a family boat.”

Button’s appearace at the show comes amid speculation that his McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton could be about to leave the team.

However the 2009 champion wouldn’t be drawn on the subject, answering Jordan’s statement that he had a new teammate with: “Do I?” Formula 1 commentator Jordan, one of Sunseeker’s highest profile customers for more than 25 years, praised the links between their boats and Formula 1 cars.

“Formula 1 has had a big part to play in Sunseeker, and Sunseeker in Formula 1,” he added. “Their boats are aligned to the very pinnacle of technology that Formula 1 has to offer.”

Comments(15)

Lord Ikea says...
11:43am Sat 15 Sep 12

Yyyyyaaaaawwwnnnn.

I bet this year it, will be the best boat show ever, as it is every year.

Dull Dull Dull.

hulla baloo says...
12:30pm Sat 15 Sep 12

Wonder how much ( or little) he paid for his 4.5m motoryacht.

Sir Ad E Noid says...
1:39pm Sat 15 Sep 12

He splashed out £4,500,000 on the motor yacht. You can read, so I guess you want more?

Northamboy says...
5:30pm Sat 15 Sep 12

That's really annoyed me as I was going to order one of those boats!

Now they are going to be so common I will settle for a week in Hastings instead.

geoff51 says...
8:30pm Sat 15 Sep 12

And you lot shouted me down when I said that the Boat show was of no use to the people and shops in the city this proves my point that its just a snobfest which has no benefit to the city.
Just out of interest how much did Mr Button spend in the city, very little if anything.
By the way avoid the Leisure World car park they have doubled the parking charges this week to cash in on the show.

Inform Al says...
8:57pm Sat 15 Sep 12

I must be driving the wrong car, can't even afford a canoe.

Echo Reader 53 says...
8:52am Sun 16 Sep 12

What a miserable lot you lot are! I've lived in this area ever since I was born (nearly 40 years) and yesterday was the first Boat Show I've ever been to. It was excellent and my whole family enjoyed it. Southampton's maritime history goes back 100's of years and that's why it's held there. Of course it benefits the local economies ... we, for instance, used the Hythe ferry instead of driving to make a day of it. This cost us more money but that benefited the local economy as loads of people did the same.
Did I buy a boat at the show? No. Will I buy one? Yes.

All your comments sound a bit sour grapes to me...

Torchie1 says...
11:18am Sun 16 Sep 12

geoff51 wrote:
And you lot shouted me down when I said that the Boat show was of no use to the people and shops in the city this proves my point that its just a snobfest which has no benefit to the city.
Just out of interest how much did Mr Button spend in the city, very little if anything.
By the way avoid the Leisure World car park they have doubled the parking charges this week to cash in on the show.
The Southampton Boat Show is the window for a business that brings money in to the country as a whole. The UK will benefit from tax on the Sunseeker profit and Income Tax paid by the employees who built the vessel. Further benefit will be gained from VAT on products bought with this earned income or from tax levied on fuel if they drive cars so although the spend in Southampton may be negligible, the trickle down effect from a £4.5 million sale is definitely there. Sadly for Button the Monaco residency won't protect him from VAT as it will be levied at the French rate of 19.6% assuming he registers the vessel there. On top of this there is VAT on any item sold there for use in the UK and think of the tax taken on the fuel used by the thousands of visitors that drove there.

originalsfc says...
4:04pm Sun 16 Sep 12

Jenson orders Sunseeker and is given a healthy discount from its ex F1 director if he agrees to help with the PR exercise in which theyll report that he placed the order at the show.

Then their people will tell the Echo people (& associated media) after which they will receive free press.

Georgem says...
8:14pm Sun 16 Sep 12

geoff51 wrote:
And you lot shouted me down when I said that the Boat show was of no use to the people and shops in the city this proves my point that its just a snobfest which has no benefit to the city.
Just out of interest how much did Mr Button spend in the city, very little if anything.
By the way avoid the Leisure World car park they have doubled the parking charges this week to cash in on the show.
I think you need to revise your definition of the word "proof". "Rich guy buys boat" doesn't prove anything.

Shoong says...
12:36am Mon 17 Sep 12

Inform Al wrote:
I must be driving the wrong car, can't even afford a canoe.
Try a little rubber dinghy.

sarfhamton says...
8:54am Mon 17 Sep 12

Publicity stunt, i imagine he bought a while back and was asked "please pretend you bought it at the show and you will get a large reduction"

Mr. Cleanstreets says...
9:08am Mon 17 Sep 12

At least he bought a British product, at least I think they are made in Poole as the article states.
He could have chosen a French or Italian model, it would have been a shorter cruise home...

Cpt. Kirk's illegitimate love child says...
9:34pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Mr. Cleanstreets wrote:
At least he bought a British product, at least I think they are made in Poole as the article states.
He could have chosen a French or Italian model, it would have been a shorter cruise home...
Visit Poole quay and they are all over the place. Factories everywhere.

beesdee says...
10:13pm Wed 19 Sep 12

It doesn't say anything about him having ordered at the show, but awaiting delivery.

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