Week Ending 29/07/2011

The Financial Times recently reported on the evident growth of the Superyacht Industry in Australia. The universally renowned publication stated that, thanks to a boom in the Mining Industry, the countries high-net-worth population now own more than 100 yachts over 24m.

“In the last five years, buyers have been moving up from 50 – 100 footers,” Erwin Bamps, C.O.O of Gulf Craft, told the publication. “Seven years ago, when I was selling into Australia, a 50-foot boat was a big boat; today that’s not the case.” Adding that individuals from the Mining Industry are one of the largest contributors to this trend.

The Australian superyacht sector has been growing consistently since the Sydney 2000 Olympics, which isn’t hard to believe seeing as Sydney constructed a special superyacht marina for the event which is now reported to be a bustling superyacht hub all year round.

The Financial Times also reported an intriguing story surrounding Princess Yachts’ interest in investing £35 million in a new superyacht construction facility at their South Yard site in Plymouth this week.

Part owned by the luxury group, LVMH, Princess Yachts felt the strain of the recession like the rest of the Superyacht Industry, losing 30% pre-tax profit in 2009; however, we can now get a sense of how companies are strategically plotting their return to equilibrium after the yard reported an increase in profits over 2010 and are now expanding to facilitate the construction of larger yachts.

Another interesting report has emerged from a financial newspaper in Italy, also published by Superyacht Business, bringing attention to an announcement from Sanlorenzo regarding their still existent interest in acquiring the Baglietto shipyard.

After Effebi-Overmarine turned down the opportunity to purchase the Baglietto Group, Sanlorenzo, one of the original bidders in 2010, has stated that they would still be interested in buying the Baglietto brand if the group were to be split up; which consists of Baglietto, Cantieri di Pisa and three other shipyards in La Spezia.

More news will emerge regarding this story in time; however, new and potential business to business developments, placed alongside the Superyacht Industry’s growth in Australia, and recently India, Brazil, China and the Middle East, have conveyed a remarkable sense of confidence surrounding the growth of the international superyacht sector; however, a clearer picture of the industry’s sales and new build progress to new and potential owners over 2011 should become apparent as things gear up for the Monaco Yacht Show this September.

Photo Gallery: