WHY THE USA IS DRIVING THE SUPERYACHT MARKET
With the US Dollar now trading around parity for the last few weeks, it is clear that the value offered to clients buying Euro priced yachts has never been better.
That however, may be over-simplifying things. We see two other things in play. Most important, we believe that the main driver is the way that Covid has changed the way that Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs) are now living and working.
We were surprised at the average age of owners prior to Covid when we analysed it a few years ago. We had lots of younger clients who previously only chartered yachts stating that they were just too busy to own a boat. They had the financial resources but were “time poor.” For vacations they might charter a yacht for two weeks in the summer, do some skiing in the winter and then the rest of the time they were stuck in their offices or travelling on business. Covid changed all that, and that change is permanent. We now live in a world where video conferencing and remote working are the norm.
Younger UHNWIs are now comfortable running their businesses remotely. Indeed one client we recently sold a yacht to said – “I now see more of my management team than I did before Covid and I’m never in the office!” They used to have a weekly meeting in the office, but someone was always missing due to travel etc… Now everyone logs in same time, same day wherever they are in the world. Another client brings his Bloomberg terminals with him when on board. With satellite communications these days this is all possible. So we are seeing clients spending much more time on boats and the design and type of yachts will change to reflect that. Very few people now want fast boats. They want comfort, stability, low noise and vibration, range and the ability to be autonomous for longer periods of time. It’s a great shift for the industry as we are also seeing yachts become much more fuel efficient as a result.
There has also been huge wealth generation in the USA which bounced back out of Covid ahead of the rest of the world. Forbes states that 50 new billionaires were created in the USA alone in the last year.
- superyachtS ARE the new home officeS FOR YOUNGER UHNWI’S -
Forbes states that 50 new billionaires were created in the USA alone in the last year.
At Christie Yachts over half our clients are from the USA
One might reasonably ask, why would a client based in the USA use a company in London to advise them on the purchase or construction of a yacht?
Given that most our business is repeat or referral, a lot of this is historic. We have some fantastic American clients who keep coming back to us and have also been very good at referring us to friends. Speaking the same language and being so closely, culturally aligned with our friends across the Atlantic is clearly a great advantage, but London, perhaps surprisingly, is a real Superyachting hub. London has long been an important shipping epicentre with Lloyds of London in insurance and shipping contracts traditionally following English Law which has in turn led to a significant proportion of the Superyacht industry gravitating here.
The vast majority of the most highly regarded Superyacht designers are only a stone’s throw from our office here in south-west London. We have worked with them all on various custom projects over the years.
London also serves as a great transport hub. From here we can fly directly to all the major shipyards in Europe, whether that be Hamburg or Bremen in Germany, Amsterdam or Rotterdam in Holland, Pisa, Genoa or Ancona in Italy or Istanbul or Antalya in Turkey. When we are involved in new construction projects for clients this is vital. And we are also well connected to the three locations where brokerage yachts are usually lying - Nice for the Côte d’Azur, Barcelona in Spain and Palma de Mallorca.
As such, we are perfectly positioned to act as a bridge for US clients looking to construct or purchase a yacht here in Europe and have the experience and relationships to add proper quantifiable value to the process.
See what our client’s say.