Pearl Yachts announces the death of Margaret Whittaker Obe, on 2 February in Palma de Mallorca at the age of 76.

Margaret Whittaker was an entrepreneur and business leader who founded Slimming World in 1969, a weight-loss meal programme that has become a benchmark in the field. She went on to buy Pearl Yachts in 2003, a British shipyard founded in 1998 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's hometown, which competes with shipyards such as Princess, Sunseeker and Fairline.

In 2007, she also took over and modernised Son Amar, a cultural centre in Mallorca.

Together with her husband, Tony Whittaker, she invested in Pearl Yachts, drawing on the couple's experience in the nautical sector.

Under her leadership, the company clearly moved up a level, becoming a recognised British yacht builder with a range of four models from 69 to 95 feet, producing a limited number of units per year, one to two per model, to maintain the highest quality. In 2023, the shipyard's turnover stood at 23 million pounds, or 28 million euros, an increase of 30%.

In 2022, Margareth Wittaker Obe received The Norns Award for Business Woman in the Yachting Industry, in recognition of her commitment to the sector.