Boris and Carrie Johnson never got to enjoy the prime ministerial superyacht they wanted the taxpayers to stump up for. But, after cavorting on the dance floor at Daylesford – the Cotswold pile of JCB boss Lord Bamford – there is speculation that their first post-Downing Street trip might be aboard The Virginian, the digger-maker’s ultra-luxe pleasure cruiser.
The 62.3-metre motor yacht comes complete with key features such as a “luminous observation lounge”, an “amazing upper-deck bar and dining area” as well as “a fully equipped gym”, of which the disgraced PM is clearly in urgent need.
Alas, the Johnsons aren’t likely to be minded to pay the £220,000 a week it normally costs to hire the craft, which is currently at anchor in the Mediterranean.
A shame for Bamford, whose key operating firm JCB Excavators has just reported pre-tax profits for 2021 at £324.5m, but whose boating venture is more of a money-pit than money-maker. It’s nursing a £6.2m pre-tax loss in 2020 on turnover of £823,816. Accounts further reveal accumulated trading losses of £104.2m and a negative net worth of £94.5m as at December 31 2020.
