"There are 6,500 superyachts and 3,500 are more than 10 years old. That will be a lot of refit business, " he says, pointing out that the VT Halmatic facility is superb for the work.

Valentijn, once an America's Cup yacht designer and a boatbuilder in the USA, is living in Southampton as he gets the new business, owned by Henry Hector, under way. He plans to go into new build and has a 65m project involving an unnamed but famous craft in southern Europe.

As for Nicholson Interiors, it lives on in several ways.

Firstly Roger Nicholson has joined the new company as sales director and work continues on several of the company's prestige nonmarine projects, such as refurbishment of the Lloyds building in London.