Depending on who you ask, there are somewhat polarized feelings about the state of the yacht market. Undoubtedly the smaller end of the market has felt the impact of wider financial market concerns and interest rate increases but I would argue that it has had little impact on the larger yacht market – if well priced, appropriately marketed and in good order, large yachts are turning around from owner to owner at as fast a pace as ever.
At Cecil Wright, we kicked off the 2023/24 sales season by selling the 95.20m Lürssen KISMET (2014) asking EUR 149,000,000 after only three months of listing her, an industry record for this size of yacht and not surprisingly one of the largest sales of the past 12 months. This presented us with a bit of an issue as we had planned to present her at the Monaco Yacht Show as the largest yacht for sale. Thankfully, we took on the listing for another Lürssen, the 90.1m PHOENIX 2 (2010 / 2024) asking EUR 124,950,000 and we neatly filled the berth. Following the show she headed straight for Barcelona where she is undergoing an EUR 10 million refit. In viewable condition by April and due to relaunch by the end of May, she represents a unique opportunity to buy a top pedigree yacht in immaculate condition that won’t need any significant work for several years to come – and at less than half the replacement cost of a new build today.
New build inflation is something that is recognised across the yards in the industry and is something that we believe hasn’t yet been fully priced into the secondary market. With the global rate of inflation being in the region of 12%-16% over the last two years, this translates to an effective discount on brokerage yacht prices (certainly for those that have been listed at the same asking price over this period).
At the top end of the market there are limited options but there are some standout opportunities, some of which have this inflation built in and others not. The 91m Lürssen LADY LARA (2015 / 2023), with her gleaming white interior is asking EUR 230,000,000. The 74m Amels NEW SECRET (2017) asking EUR 109,000,000 is another new to market option which I suspect won’t be available for long. The 67m Heesen SPARTA (2024) is asking EUR 99,000,000 and is one of the very few brand-new yachts available in the world. Lastly, we have the 60m Amels COME TOGETHER (2022) asking EUR 59,950,000. She achieved a phenomenal amount of charter last season which more than covered her running costs and is the first of the extremely popular Amels 60 range.
FEADSHIP MARKET
The speed at which sales have been completing has also been unusually rapid with six of the 15 sales completing in less than four months from listing, including four of the seven 60m+ listings mentioned above.
Whilst there are 43 Feadships on the open market, if you are looking for specific areas within the fleet then the options start to become rather reduced. The standouts from the fleet are the 85.30m SAVANNAH (2015 / 2020) asking POA, which at 2,305 GT is the largest Feadship for sale by some margin. The next option is the in-build 75.80m Project 825, asking EUR 169,500,000, which is due for launch at the end of this year and if one considers the 3–4-year build time plus the inflationary impact then this really presents a very interesting opportunity. Another rare opportunity is for the 55.21m SOMNIUM (2021), asking EUR 75,000,000. She is one of two Feadships on the market that are less than 10 years old and whilst her asking price does seem a little high, when compared to replacement cost, it is on about a par and there is of course some room for negotiation.
An option which I feel is probably overlooked in the market is the 62.30m FLAG (2000 / 2022) asking EUR 39,500,000. She has been for sale collectively for a little over 2½ years having been listed, withdrawn and then relisted which I suspect might lead to some trepidation about buying her. The truth of the matter is that the owner wasn’t realistically a seller initially but this has now changed and this was indicated by a reduction in the asking price.
New to the market and listed with the team at Cecil Wright is the 49.99m HERCULES (1998 / 2024) asking EUR 19,500,000 (VAT paid). Having just passed her 25 year Lloyd's Survey, she represents a turnkey opportunity to acquire an overtly robustly-built Feadship.
Last but by no means least is the 30m LA MASCARADE (1997 / 2022). Asking EUR 3,495,000 she is a one-off in terms of what Feadship built of this age and having recently completed a refit at Pendennis, is ready to go to a new Owner.
Other phenomenal Feadships for sale are:
– PREDATOR – 72.80m, 2008 / 2016, asking EUR 69,000,000
– SEA OWL – 61.87m, 2013, asking USD 90,000,000
– KAHALANI – 55.05m, 2010, asking EUR 39,750,000
– OLYMPUS – 55.00m, 1996 / 2023, asking USD 28,500,000
– SEA HUNTRESS – 55.00m, 1997 / 2022, asking EUR 26,750,000
– BERILDA – 47.10m, 2001 / 2022, asking USD 21,000,000
– GO – 43.00m, 2010 / 2020, asking EUR 18,700,000
As ever there are off market opportunities in both the Feadship market and the wider market, details of which are available on request along with information of in-build projects that are available for sale both openly and in the closed market.
Henry Smith
For more information, contact Henry Smith on:
henry@cecilwright.com
or call +33 6 40 62 01 51