​THE former owner of Plymouth's Princess Yachts, billionaire mining tycoon, race-horse breeder and wine producer Graham Beck, has died in London aged 80.

Mr Beck bought the luxury Plymouth yacht builder as part of the Renwick group in 1981 and owned it until it was sold to French billionaire Bernard Arnault in 2008.

Princess was a minor part of the Renwick concern when Mr Beck bought it but under his ownership it expanded to become one the largest companies of its kind in the UK.

Mr Beck put Princess up for sale in 2007 although it is understood he rejected several higher offers than the one he finally accepted, because parties were planning to fund the purchase with debt.

When Princess Yachts was sold, operations director Chris Gates said: "Graham Beck, has been a wonderful supporter for over 25 years, but he came to the local management and said that he wanted us to find the right investor to take the company forward."

Mr Beck owned and operated some of the the biggest wine operations in South Africa, including wineries in Robertson and Franschoek, and four wineries in the Western Cape.

Etienne Haines, marketing manager of Graham Beck Wines, said his wife Rhona was at his side when he died.

She told Bloomberg that it was Mr Beck's wish that everything would carry on 'as normal' on his four wineries. She said: "“It’s business as usual, that was his wish."

Mr Beck’s body is being flown to Israel today for burial. He spent most of his time in South Africa but came to Kensignton two months ago to avoid the worst of the South African winter.

Mr Beck's wineries, now entering a third generation, have won numerous international awards.

Mr Beck, son of a stockbroker, was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1929 and studied commerce at the city's Kingswood College and university.

While at university he founded a home renovation business called Kangra, then diversified into coal mining rehabilitating a troubled mine, a field where he went on to have considerable success.

As well as being a keen golfer Mr Beck was passionate about horses from his days at college and racing and ran a number of successful stud operations across the world.

He travelled to Kentucky, USA, several times to buy horses for his farms in South Africa dns ent on to found one of America's most prestigious stud farms.

He once entertained the Queen at his farm in Kentucky.

His adventure with wine began two years after he bought Princess Yachts.

He had homes in South Africa, Britain and America. Mr Beck and Rhona had been married for 50 years. He is survived by a son, Antony, who runs the Kentucky farm.