Shipbroker BRS is seeking a buyer for its Monaco-based super-yacht management, chartering and sale-and-purchase business, Yachting Partners International (YPI).
The move follows the sale towards the end of 2018 of its 60% stake in YPI Crew, the Antibes-based yacht crew recruitment agency, to Germany’s Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement.
The Paris-headquartered shipbroker's involvement in the yachting business can be traced back to September 2007 when it created subsidiary BRS Yachting.
Utilising knowledge
It acquired YPI in 2008 as an extension of its cruiseship activities and to utilise its knowledge of shipyards and designers.
But BRS chief executive Francois Cadiou indicated that the level of synergies with its existing commercial business had not fully materialised and a corporate decision had been taken to concentrate human and financial resources on other developments, including expansion of its shipbroking business and network, including digitalisation.
We realised our line of business is more B2B while yachting remains B2C with different laws of physics, a different approach. We cannot be everywhere
Francois Cadiou
“We realised our line of business is more B2B [business to business] while yachting remains B2C [business to consumer] with different laws of physics, a different approach,” he said. “We cannot be everywhere.”
Cadiou said BRS favours selling YPI as a single entity given “the synergies that have developed over the years between management, chartering and S&P”.
The Monaco yachting operation has just 24 employees, a small fraction of the approximately 520-strong BRS Group globally.
Cadiou said that while the search for a buyer has been ongoing for only a short time, there already have been several expressions of interest.
“We haven’t received any offers yet but hopefully that will happen in the coming weeks,” he said.
Attractive for investors
He added that Monaco was a potentially attractive place for people to invest.“It is also the centre of the yachting industry, so for a number of reasons it is the right place to be if and when you want to be in that business,” Cadiou said.
YPI, originally founded in 1972 by Alexander Braden, has during BRS’ tenure handled various substantial deals, including the chartering of the 72-metre super-yacht Axioma designed by Alberto Pinto and featuring six double staterooms and a 3D cinema.
It also sold in 2016 to Dubai-based interests the luxury 72-metre super-yacht O’Pari 3, originally built at Greek yard Golden Yachts and owned by Goldenport Shipmanagement’s Paris Dragnis.
Very recently, YPI became one of the promoters and exclusive broker behind Adventure Yacht Charter. It charters luxury expedition super-yachts and then subcharters individual cabins via travel agencies specialising in adventure travel to remote locations such as Antarctica.
'Profitable industry'
Quizzed on the financial performance of YPI, Cadiou said: “The industry is profitable. We have had good years and also bad years, but all in all it was OK.
“The market is growing in two directions. The size of yachts today are easily over 50 or 70 metres which was not the case 10 years ago. It is also growing in terms of [number of] units."
According to BRS, there are 830 yachts globally of 24 metres-plus either on order or under construction.
But after five years of slight year-on-year improvements in the number of brokerage yachts sold, BRS expects a dip in 2019 due to economic factors such as Brexit and trade tensions.
However, this year has started well for charter enquiries, with the Chinese market “definitely increasing”.
BRS said it expects growth seen in the yacht management market, both in vessel size and operational complexity, to continue.
