ITS name has been synonymous with Southampton’s famous boating event for the past three years.

Now PSP is set to announce today that its sponsorship of the annual PSP Southampton Boat Show will continue for a further two years.

The deal means the show will continue to be named the ‘PSP Southampton Boat Show’ until then and will benefit from substantial investment.

The worldwide boat transportation firm made the decision when the current sponsorship deal ended after last September’s show.

An announcement will be made at the 2011 Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show.

This year’s event saw an estimated 123,000 visitors flock to the Mayflower Park over the ten days.

They had the chance to see the 350 boats moored up alongside the show’s pontoons with a further 650 on dry land, while more than 8,000 people took trips out on the water on a number of different crafts from luxury powerboats to pedalos.

Star names in attendance included classical singer Katherine Jenkins, who cut the ribbon at the launch of the £12.5m Sunseeker 40m motor yacht.

She was joined by BBC’s Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis, adventurer Bear Grylls who was signing autographs, while TV stars Nick Hancock and Dawn Porter opened the show.

Frank Dixie, founder and managing director of PSP, said he had weighed up the company’s high investment against the fact that being the title sponsor over the last three years had helped to make the firm synonymous with worldwide boat transportation.

He said: “Our sponsorship has led to a hard but fruitful three years, during which we have established the PSP Worldwide Alliance, bought our headquarters in Fareham outright and handled logistics for the likes of Clipper Round the World, ISAF, Sunseeker, Fairline and Princess.

“If this is what we can achieve in three years of sponsorship, I can’t wait to see what we have achieved in 2012 after five years.”

Paul Strzelecki, chairman of National Boat Shows, said: “This sponsorship is fantastic news for the Show, the British Marine Federation, its members and the marine industry as a whole, particularly when times are still challenging.

“This, together with Tullett Prebon’s sponsorship of the London International Boat Show, demonstrates the success of the shows and underlines how businesses recognise the value and impact of the opportunities provided by these high-profile events.”