Leaders

Torqeedo, electric motors, boat, boating, Fabian Bez, Heiko Vietmeier, Deep Blue, Lake Starnberg, Munich, Weßling, Nimbus, USA, Thailand, Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, UAE, Delphia, Beneteau, Excess, Frauscher, Swan, BMW, Tyde, The Icon, Ocean Explorer, Nimbus, Highfield, Zodiac, Travel 1103, Travel 603, Cruise 12.0 R, Cruise 6.0, Webasto, EV, electric vehicles

Torqeedo CEO Fabian Bez: “We’re building the future of marine mobility”

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

Torqeedo CEO Fabian Bez: “We’re building the future of marine mobility”

July 13, 2023
11:17 am

Founded in 2005, Torqeedo is now working with forward-looking builders on electrifying their motor boats, sailing yachts, catamarans and RIBs, as CEO Fabian Bez seeks to help the water-based electromobility pioneer “define the future”.
Interview: John Higginson Photos: Torqeedo & Shipyards

Fabian Bez, CEO, Torqeedo

Fabian, having studied mechanical engineering in Munich, what led to your career in high-tech mobility and eventually to Torqeedo?

Funnily enough, I grew up on Lake Starnberg, Torqeedo’s home lake outside Munich. As a kid, I was always on the water, rowing and sailing as often as I could, so I was a first-hand witness to the development of this hotbed of electric boating and the growth of Torqeedo as a company.

Like many young people, I was fascinated with how things work, especially cars. I was always taking things apart and putting them back together. While it was clear engineering might be my future career, I was also really fascinated by how ‘making things’ works as a business.

I was a serial entrepreneur throughout my studies, and further pursued a degree in engineering economics at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (2003-07). This turned out to be a key combination: to be an engineer and understand the technology behind highly technical products, while also leveraging that knowledge to run a strong, healthy business.

Later experiences in the automotive industry and building up Webasto’s battery-systems and charging-solutions business units also informed my development as a leader in innovative drivetrain development, and electrification and alternative-fuels strategy.

Nimbus offers E-power versions of its 305 Drophead and 305 Coupé

All the professional experience, consulting jobs and education prepared me for leading Torqeedo, but the heart of it is that I love being on the water. That strong connection to nature and the waters I grew up on was, and is, important. I want everyone to experience that connection.

When you started as CEO of Torqeedo last October, what were your brief and key targets for the coming years?

Any new CEO job comes with financial and performance targets, as did this one, but my key targets are differently defined. Personally, I want to feel connected to where I’m investing my time and energy. I need to believe in what I’m doing, to be a part of something worth being proud of. I think most people need that.

My first priority is to build a company that acts with respect for its employees, its customers, its partners and the planet. A place where everyone is excited, engaged and happy to contribute. If you manage this, you’re well on your way to meeting the financial and performance goals.

At the same time, I’m drawn to companies where there are challenges. There’s huge potential in the electrification of the marine industry and the Torqeedo brand is strong and well respected. Customer interest is skyrocketing, and the eyes of the industry are on this company as we build the future of marine mobility.

Nimbus E-power models use Torqeedo’s Deep Blue 50i 1400 drive with BMW i3 42.2kWh batteries

Essentially, Torqeedo created and is now riding a massive sea change and my job is to make sure we keep our heads above water. These are “good problems to have”.

Over the last year, we’ve invested in our manufacturing infrastructure and optimised our R&D processes. Our new structure of two business groups will ensure we have the proper products and services to continue to connect with today’s and tomorrow’s boaters.

It’s my task, together with our leadership team, to leverage our assets – a proven product portfolio, partnerships, almost two decades of experience, and technical excellence – to become a true series manufacturer of complete, customisable systems and services that will continue to lead boating into its emission-free future.

How is the company structured in terms of headquarters and regional offices?

Torqeedo recently moved into our new headquarters in the Weßling municipality west of Munich, consolidated three manufacturing locations into that new headquarters, and invested in improving our production capabilities and internal processes. We’ve implemented lean manufacturing strategies and are ready to meet the growing demand for sustainable boating solutions.

The electric Delphia 11 has a Torqeedo Deep Blue 50i 1400 inboard

As well as maintaining two regional headquarters in the USA and Thailand, Torqeedo has a worldwide sales and service network with partners in more than 100 countries. From our Asia-Pacific headquarters in Bangkok, we see strong growth markets for electrification, especially in luxury yachting, in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the UAE.

Torqeedo produced its 200,000th motor earlier this year, in the same week the company celebrated its 18th anniversary. The company founders were confident demand for electric boat propulsion would increase due to growth of population and middle classes, limited oil reserves and efforts to limit global warming. Are these reasons still as relevant today?

The key drivers for electric mobility on land and water are the same as they were when Torqeedo was created. Electric boating is clean, quiet and easy to use – for many people, it’s just a nicer way to boat.

Electric boating enables closer connections between boaters and nature, and boaters and their friends and families. Concurrently, we’re failing to adequately address our warming climate. Our cities continue to suffer from air and water pollution while becoming increasingly crowded.

Electrification is the most basic and obvious ‘tool in the toolbox’ for creating a greener, healthier future for our communities and the world. The policy is divided into two parts: make power production as environmentally friendly as possible by using renewable energy, and then electrify everything possible.

Frauscher’s 740 Mirage Air uses two 100kW Deep Blue inboards

For example, energy production in Southeast Asia currently relies heavily on fossil fuels, with renewables making up about 17 per cent of the total energy mix.

The region is one of the most at-risk from climate change yet the tropics are obviously ripe for solar-energy production. Over the next two years, ASEAN has set a goal of raising the renewables ratio to 23 per cent, and most countries have proposed strategies for making their grids cleaner, with most aiming to reach net zero by 2050.

Electrification of transportation has taken on a sense of urgency in many governments in Asia, as they strive to position themselves as EV (electric vehicles) manufacturing hubs and attract ‘clean economy jobs’ by offering tax breaks and incentives to buyers of electric cars, as well as manufacturers, and investing in charging infrastructure.

The Ocean Explorer 72 offers Torqeedo’s Deep Blue Hybrid system

Currently, EV adoption for four-wheel vehicles in Southeast Asia lags behind Europe, China and the US, but we see that changing. When you can buy a Tesla for the same price as a Camry, as you now can in Thailand, you can expect rapid adoption. And as more people experience driving electric, they want the same experience on the water.

For us, creating products that allow people to have a closer, more authentically enjoyable experience in nature and on the water is just as important as creating climate-friendly products, which we see as the bare minimum task of a company that hopes to be selling products in the coming decades.

But the dream of Torqeedo lies in making boating better in every way: cleaner, safer, easier, quieter and more luxurious. Choosing an electric boat doesn’t have to mean making compromises.

Of its first 200,000 electric motors, Torqeedo produced 100,000 in the last three years. What are the reasons behind this exponential growth?

We were the first to market with many of the original products for emission-free water transportation, and the institutional knowledge created within this company since 2005 is unrivalled in the industry.

Torqeedo’s Deep Blue 100i 2500rpm inboard

Of course, the Covid pandemic brought many new boaters to the water in many markets, as people sought ways to recreate outdoors. The industry was enjoying record order books, overcoming supply chain issues and generalised economic uncertainty.

But the factor that has contributed the most to our recent growth is the strength of the partnerships we’ve built. Torqeedo has partners in over 100 countries around the world, a global, highly professional sales and service network, and is the electrification partner for some of the world’s biggest boat brands and equipment manufacturers. The industry trusts Torqeedo. Boaters trust Torqeedo.

Yacht Style has featured Torqeedo’s collaborations with yacht builders like Beneteau (sailing monohulls), Excess, Ocean Explorer (sailing catamarans), Nimbus, Frauscher, Delphia (motor boats), Highfield and Zodiac (both RIBs). How does the company cater to such a variety of boating types?

One of Torqeedo’s key assets is the array of single-source, turnkey drive systems we provide to the industry.

The Excess 15 offers Torqeedo’s Deep Blue Hybrid system

In the past year, our boatbuilder partners have announced electric boats ranging from small pontoon boats, tenders and daysailers up to Delphia’s electric lineup of inland waterway cruisers and the Swan 88, a large sailing yacht with the Deep Blue Hybrid system.

We continue to make Torqeedo’s emission-free drive systems more accessible, easier to install, and integrate an ever-expanding variety of marine products into our system architecture.

Can you outline Torqeedo’s collaboration with BMW and Tyde on The Icon, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in May?

Tyde is interesting as it’s building more than just a luxury electric yachting experience – The Icon feels like it’s flying because it’s ultraquiet, smooth and comfortable. The avant-garde design and attention to detail, down to the sound design, are stunning.

Torqeedo developed the propulsion for The Icon in collaboration with BMW and Tyde

It’s based on a foiling platform that can be leveraged for a variety of uses, including commercial passenger ferries or tour boats. Lifting a hull up on foils greatly increases efficiency and range. The propulsion system includes twin Deep Blue 100 inboard motors and six Deep Blue batteries.

Leveraging tested, proven components and systems like Deep Blue and BMW’s batteries allow us to share the technology for electrification between land, air and water. It was a very successful project and we’re proud to be part of it.

How is Torqeedo’s production split between outboards (Ultralight, Travel, Cruise, Deep Blue), Deep Blue inboard and hybrid systems, saildrives and pod drives?

In Asia-Pacific, outboards now make up roughly 75 per cent of our sales. These are mostly Travel motors for daysailers, tenders and dinghies, as well as Cruise motors for boats up to around 10 tonnes. We also sell a lot of outboards for water taxis and small passenger ferries. Workboats tend to be heavier, so most of these systems are Deep Blue.

Beneteau’s electric version of the First 44 features two Torqeedo Cruise 12.0 pod drives

Pod drives are a great option for sub-40ft sailboats, which can even charge their own batteries while under sail. Inboard motors are mostly used by electric tenders, catamarans and big sailing boats.

So, what types of boats are best suited for Torqeedo products?

Certain types of boating are ideal for electrification. On sailboats, going electric frees up space below decks, eliminates winterisation and reduces maintenance, plus you can use your electric drive system to charge your batteries. Big or small, sailboats are a perfect platform for electrification.

If exploring rivers, lakes, bays and tributaries is more your style, repowering smaller displacement boats with an electric drive system up to 25hp-equivalent (12kW/48V) can be done yourself or at any boatyard.

Torqeedo’s Cruise 12.0 R outboard

Small outboard electric motors are perfect for dinghies and tenders. They’re super lightweight, clean and quiet, and the dinghy starts with the push of a button, not a pull cord.

If you love to fish in inland or nearshore waters, electric can work for your fishing boat, while displacement cruisers up to around 40ft could consider either a fully electric or a hybrid-electric setup with a diesel generator backup.

If power is the main issue preventing builders of larger luxury yachts from going all-electric, how and when can this be changed or overcome?

Currently, the key limiting element is the energy density of batteries. On a technical level, batteries will continue to advance, as will the infrastructure for electric boating. As a result, our offering will expand, we will enter new markets, and we will gain market share in categories where we already provide solutions.

A Highfield RIB using the Torqeedo Travel 1103

Marinas are already aware that their shore power capabilities, while adequate for overnight charge, will need to expand to accommodate fast charging. Renewable onboard energy generation, such as solar and hydrogeneration, will continue to increase in efficiency, providing considerable opportunity to extend range and improve life on board.

Torqeedo’s innovative hydrogeneration algorithm for sailing yachts optimises power generation while reducing drag. While sailing, the Excess 15 generates approximately 75 per cent of its daily hotel load consumption.

Every year, solar photovoltaics become more economical and efficient, and we’re incorporating hydrogen fuel cells into the Deep Blue system architecture.

Torqeedo’s Travel 1103 outboard

What warranty and service follow-up do you offer owners of Torqeedo engines in Asia?

The standard warranty is two years for recreational use. Torqeedo has service partners in Thailand, Malaysia, China, Korea, Japan, India, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.

What else should our readers in Asia know about Torqeedo?

In partnership with our management team, Heiko Vietmeier, our CFO, and I are instituting a new strategy for the company. Torqeedo is the trusted partner of the world’s most reputable boating brands, and has one of the most loyal and passionate customer bases you can find in this industry.

To build on that, we will make Torqeedo even more customer-centric by providing more optimised products for specific market segments. Torqeedo is a powerful brand, and we are the pioneers of electric marine propulsion. We’re determined to maintain that position as we define the future.

Heiko Vietmeier (left) started as CFO a month after Bez joined as CEO

Our ambition is to put Torqeedo on every boat, to deliver joyful experiences and enable authentic connections, giving our customers a multi-sensory movement experience when on the water. We aspire to offer a barrier-free boating experience – no fuel, no noise, no odour and no anxiety. Simply the pure pleasure of being on the sea.

I want to take Torqeedo to a new level by thoroughly exploring our brand’s essential attributes: pleasure, power and respect. We will build a whole suite of boating products on that foundation, allowing people to boat in full connection with each other, nature and their values.

www.torqeedo.com

asia@torqeedo.com

FABIAN BEZ

Based in Greater Munich, Bez has been CEO of Torqeedo in since October 2022. His early career included an internship at Porsche before he spent six years as a working student at BMW Group, completing his diploma thesis in New Jersey, US. During the same period, he was founder and Managing Partner of Quanten, a digital startup. His next five years with American consultancy Kearney were split between two years in London and just over three in Munich, before he focused on electric engines during six years at automotive supplier Webasto Group, while also developing CAT (Carbon, Aluminum and Titanium) bicycles and mountain bikes. Before joining Torqeedo, he spent 3½ years as a management consultant in the fields of alternative drives and renewable energies, including 10 months with Keyou focused on hydrogen-powered engines for commercial vehicles.

Guillaume Andrebe: Leading the cat charge in Asia

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

Guillaume Andrebe: Leading the cat charge in Asia

June 8, 2023
2:33 pm

As Asia-Pacific Sales Director for two Groupe Beneteau catamaran builders, Andrebe oversees a dealer network seeking to maintain Lagoon as the region’s leading multihull brand, while he also works on raising the profile of the sporty, twin-helm Excess line.

Guillaume Andrebe, Asia-Pacific Sales Director, Lagoon and Excess

Guillaume, you’ve represented Lagoon and Excess from Groupe Beneteau’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong since January 2019. How important is the city for Lagoon?

It’s a very important market for us. Hong Kong has been the Asia-Pacific home of Groupe Beneteau since 2016 and it has been a steady market for Lagoon for a long time.

With Simpson Marine as our dealer (in Hong Kong and other markets), we’ve been selling boats to Cathay Pacific pilots, expats and increasingly to locals enjoying the boating lifestyle. Some Lagoon owners even live on their boats, in Sai Kung, Aberdeen and so on. Hong Kong is an amazing playground, as you have lots of islands to go to on the weekend with your family and friends. What’s better than a Lagoon catamaran for that.

You’ve visited Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Korea and Singapore in recent months, so which are the leading Asia-Pacific markets for Lagoon?

Currently, it’s Australia, although it often changes from year to year. Japan is strong and one of the oldest markets for us in Asia. Tetsuo Sekiguchi from First Marine is a long-time distributor of Beneteau and Lagoon, and is a legend of the industry and for Groupe Beneteau. Over the years, he has created an amazing Lagoon community there.

The first Lagoon 55 in Asia; Photo: Simpson Marine

The Philippines is also a huge market. Europa Yachts is our dealer there and we have a group of clients who are successful businessmen and pretty much all friends. They’ve been purchasing our biggest units for years now and upgrading regularly, so it’s actually a very big market for us.

Where else has Lagoon been strong in Asia?

Malaysia and Sanya in China have also been amazing places for business for us. I think Simon Theseira of Simpson Marine Malaysia even set a record one year, where he was the best Lagoon 620 salesman in the world.

There was similar demand in Sanya. If you still go to the marinas in Sanya, you have 620s lined up in marinas. Sanya slowed down a bit, mostly for political reasons, but is starting again now that Hainan is a Free Trade Port. It’s still a bit quiet in Malaysia, although Simpson Marine is still busy and we’ve been delivering Lagoons there regularly.

How do you view Lagoon’s presence in Singapore, which hosted the Southeast Asia debut of the Lagoon 55 (Review, Issue 59) at this year’s Singapore Yachting Festival, following the model’s Asia premiere in Hong Kong late last year?

It has been growing for the last five years. Before, the interest in catamarans wasn’t so big, mostly a matter of berthing, but people are realising that having a catamaran is great for going to the islands at weekends or using when you go on holiday to Indonesia or Thailand, for example.

Lagoon Sixty 7 (right) beside a 55 at the 2023 Singapore Yachting Festival

As well as the new 55, there’s a recent Sixty 7 powercat that was previously owned by a client in the Middle East, who realised he preferred sailing. So, he sold the Sixty 7 to a client in Singapore and bought a 55.

Simpson Marine resumed the Lagoon Escapade Thailand last October. How important is this event and what feedback do you get from Lagoon owners in the country?

Apart from the boat shows, these are probably the most important events for us because we’re trying to build this community around the brand. The Escapades work well. People travel all around the world with their Lagoons and when they meet another Lagoon owner, they’re happy to talk to them and share their stories and experience. They’re also very active online, exchanging tips on how to fix or repair something.

This is what we wanted to create, a community around the brand, and because owners renew their boats every few years, we want them to stay with us because they feel happy with us and part of a family. So, these events are important for this. During Escapades, we get to go sailing with them, share good times, share stories about the brand, and create a community.

Andrebe (back row) at Lagoon Escapade Thailand last October; Photo: Simpson Marine

When you talk to owners, is there anything that surprises you?

Yeah, always – they’re so proud. The pride of owning a Lagoon, you can really see it in their eyes. And they like to tell you where they’ve been and tell you the good times, the bad moments as well, when they were caught in a storm, how and what they did, and so on.

They’re proud of the memories they make on their boats. When I join the Escapades, I spend hours listening to their stories. They’re very active users.

What’s next for Lagoon Escapades in Asia?

The Lagoon Escapade Philippines was scheduled to be held in late May and was set to have the full current range of models represented, from the 42 to the Seventy 8 powercat. However, we’ve had to postpone this due to the weather, so it should be held later this year.

Lagoon Escapade Thailand 2022; Photo: Simpson Marine

The next Lagoon Escapade in Thailand is from November 3-5 and we’re also planning the first Escapade in Japan next year because we have so many Lagoons there. We’re also looking to host events in Hong Kong and Sanya.

How successful has the Lagoon 51 (Review, Issue 67) been in launching the brand’s new emphasis on sustainability?

We felt having solar panels was not enough anymore. It’s not enough to put solar panels everywhere on the boat and call yourself sustainable. We want to go further than this. So, we started from the very beginning of the process from where we get our raw materials, so now we only source wood from forests certified by FSC (Forest Stewardship Council).

We source natural resin for use in the construction, which is another big step in the right direction. We offer recycled fabrics for all the upholstery. We even use natural fibres, so some structural parts of the boats are made of hemp fibre. Our R&D department is actively working into increasing the percentage of sustainable materials and we’re going to take more steps with future models.

Launched in 2022, the Lagoon 51 introduced the brand’s new sustainability focus

Groupe Beneteau is working with Torqeedo (click for article) and Vision Marine on electric propulsion. This is one of the main axis of the R&D department, but we don’t want to rush things. Lagoon was the first catamaran builder to put electric engines on a catamaran, in 2006, but the solution wasn’t great at the time, so we stopped.

Now, we want to take our time to find something that will bring enough power and autonomy to be safe. Also, something affordable because today this is a six-figure option, with competitors selling this for between €150,000 and €300,000, which is too much.

Even though it’s an expensive option, are people enquiring about hybrid or electric propulsion and energy?

Everybody is, but we tell them about the current performance of the systems, the price and the fact that it’s still very new technology. It’s going to be tough to find someone in a local marina willing to repair any such system because most are not trained for it, so clients quickly come back to choosing diesel engines. There are amazing initiatives happening, but we need to wait until these are workable and proven on a production scale.

Andrebe on a Lagoon 55 at this year’s Singapore Yachting Festival

Since Excess was introduced in 2019, where in Asia-Pacific has the brand proven popular?

French Polynesia is number one, ahead of Japan, Australia and New Zealand. We have a dealer, Sail Tahiti, that has found the perfect recipe. We never sold a new Lagoon to a private owner there, although we have sold to charter companies. But when David Allouch from Sail Tahiti arrived, he offered Excess models to anyone willing to keep them in French Polynesia.

Owners use it when they come and for the rest of the year, Sail Tahiti manages, charters and maintains it until the owners are back. And it works. We’ve sold at least 10 Excess catamarans in French Polynesia. For his first Excess 11, David took it from the shipyard in Les Sables-d’Olonne (on France’s west coast) and sailed it himself for three months to Tahiti.

The Excess 15 is the young brand’s flagship; Photo: Christophe Launay

What’s needed to increase the popularity of Excess in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, where Lagoon has been the leading catamaran brand for so long?

Groupe Beneteau created Excess because they realised the catamaran market was segmented into performance cats, like Outremer, HH and so on, and cruisers like Lagoon, but there was really nothing in the middle.

At a lot of boat shows, they heard on the pontoons that a lot of people weren’t willing to transition from a monohull to a catamaran because they didn’t want to give up on the sensations of sailing. So, they created Excess, which sits in the middle between performance and cruisers. You still have the comfort and the volume, but you also have a boat that sails well.

What do owners coming from monohulls want? They want helm stations at the back because they want to be right next to the water, have good vision of the sails and be directly connected to the rudders, so they can feel the water on their hands when they’re helming. This is what Excess offers.

There’s no flybridge on Excess, which makes the boat sportier looking, gives owners great access to the boom and the sails, and makes the boat lighter.

The Excess 11 is the brand’s popular entry model

Excess is not a performance cat, but it’s a bit faster than Lagoon and lighter, so will take off more easily in light winds. In five knots, you can start sailing. Owners then have everything they want. The family’s happy, they finally sail flat, everybody has their own room and privacy, as well as volume and comfort.

This is why we never have clients considering one or the other because the helm stations at the back and no flybridge is a ‘no’ for some people or appealing to others. In fact, we compared the data of people visiting Lagoon and Excess stands during boat shows, and only 10 per cent of people visited both, which means we have two different target audiences. Excess cats are very much for monohull sailors looking for similar sensations.

After the Excess 12 and 15 featured bridge decks and inner hulls from the Lagoon 40 and 52, the 11 and then 14 were all-new. Why is the brand’s management most excited about the Excess 14 (Review, Issue 68)?

I think we finally found our DNA. We’ve been looking for the Excess identity since 2019. The 12 and 15 were a good introduction, but not different enough from existing cats. With the 11, we started to feel something from the market. We’ve now sold over 250 units already, with a well-specced model costing about €400,000.

The new Excess 14 has helped the brand distinguish itself

Now, with the Excess 14 (click for Review), we went a step further in finding that DNA. It’s a sporty looking boat with those slightly aggressive lines. It’s innovative, very clever but simple, because sailors like simple boats that are easy to sail and maintain. We have an amazing naval architect, Herve Piveteau, who came up with all this, with the help of VPLP (Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot Prévost).

The Excess 14 is already a big commercial success and we’re sold out until the end of 2024. And from 2025, Excess is going to be able to build 250 boats a year, which will put it on the podium with the biggest catamaranbrands.
www.cata-lagoon.com
www.excess-catamarans.com

Tanguy Tertrais: M-Line expands Prestige options

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

Tanguy Tertrais: M-Line expands Prestige options

June 1, 2023
11:09 am

As Asia-Pacific Sales Director for Prestige, Tanguy Tertrais is preparing for the French builder’s M Line of multihull motor yachts to enter Asia, while the brand introduces new developments for the popular F-Line.

Tanguy Tertrais, Asia-Pacific Sales Director, Prestige

Having recently visited Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Japan, what have you learnt since taking on the role of Prestige Sales Director for Asia-Pacific last September?

I’ve noticed each market is quite specific. I went to this year’s Japan International Boat Show in Yokohama and found that the way owners use their boats there is completely different from how boats are used in Hong Kong, mainland China or Singapore.

The Japanese clients, for example, don’t use their boats as much as they’re used in Hong Kong. It’s more of a social status in Japan, whereas in Hong Kong, it’s really something you use for the weekend or for day trips. It’s interesting to see these differences, whereas in Europe, it’s a different usage of the boat. These cultural differences are new to me, so it’s very interesting.

Tertrais in Japan with Prestige Brand Director Erwin Bamps and Yamaha Marine

However, the demands from our customers are similar. Most are looking for quality time on the water with their family and friends, and for more volume and space rather than speed. If we asked people a decade ago what they wanted, they would have said ‘a fast boat to go from A to B and back’.

Which are Prestige’s biggest markets in Asia?

Hong Kong is number one. Japan is picking up the pace and other markets are growing. We’ve talked a lot about Thailand, where a lot of Russian clients have come back and Chinese are visiting again. There is money all around the region such as in Indonesia and Malaysia, while the Philippines is a big market, especially for the new M-Line of multihull motor yachts.

But Hong Kong is our main market today and the F-Line of flybridges is the best seller, especially the 520. That’s our best-selling model worldwide and that’s also reflected in Asia. We see a demand for the X-Line as well. It has only been introduced in Asia quite recently, but the X-Line is becoming a trend as we’ve seen in the European market.

Tertrais at the China International Boat Show in Shanghai

Meanwhile, there’s growing interest in the M-Line worldwide and there have already been 30-plus retail orders for the M48, which is a good start for a yacht launched at the Cannes Yachting Festival last September. And with the announcement of the M8, everyone is getting excited about these models and it’s a trend we’re going to see across Asia, such as in Hong Kong, Philippines, Japan and so on.

Asia Yachting represents Prestige in Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines, so what have you learnt from their team about these markets?

Most of the owners in these markets have crew, so it’s a different way of using the boat. In terms of layout options, the designs of the boats differ when someone uses the boat with a full crew. A Seakeeper stabiliser and air-conditioning are common options, so these are also things to consider when creating models to cover these markets.

Prestige 690 Swarovski Edition

Perceived quality is very important in Asia, which is why we partnered with Swarovski on the Prestige 690. The Prestige 690 Swarovski Edition is already on its way to Asia.

How closely are you cooperating with Asia Yachting?

Working closely with our dealers in all their markets is key to making sure our brand is well represented. I was talking about the Philippines with the M-Line. That’s a key market for us so we’re working closely with Asia Yachting to understand how we can build our presence there with the M-Line. Thailand is also picking up.

Asia Yachting is an expert on the yachting industry in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, so we want to build that partnership to have a presence for Prestige in those key markets. Event wise, they are a true partner and regularly host Prestige events. In November, we host the Prestige Exclusive Days at our shipyard in France and we’ll do it in Beaulieu-sur-Mer in August with some sea trials, so we want to increase those events.

Tertrais and Bamps with Asia Yachting at the Prestige Exclusive Day in Hong Kong

Asia Yachting has hosted the first official Prestige Exclusive Days outside of France, so the idea is to spread these throughout the world in the US, for example, but also hopefully one day in the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and so on. They’re a true partner to help us grow our visibility and our branding across the region.

What has been the reaction to the X-Line in Asia, where the region’s first X70 arrived in Hong Kong in late 2021?

There has been an excellent response and I believe it will be even better for the X60, with the first model in Asia potentially arriving in Hong Kong late summer. We had an X70 handover in December and we had 15-20 people on the boat having a good time, and that’s how owners here like to use their boats, so the X-Line is right on point.

Prestige X60

You don’t see the volumes on the X-Line models on other brands. That’s what yacht owners in Asia are looking for because when they go boating, they don’t go by themselves. They’re going with the full family, with some friends or even some business partners, and they’re looking for those volumes.

What about the M-Line, the brand’s entry into the multihull market?

The M-Line is a step further. The boats have been designed from scratch as powercats, to offer unprecedented space and experiences for guests and the owner, including what we call an owner’s suite, because that’s really what it is.

Today, many of our competitors in the multihull motor yacht market are coming from sailing catamarans. We don’t have the same constraints, so we manage to offer unrivalled spaces for a new way of experiencing the sea. The design of our M8, for instance, is based on a perfect technical platform to meet four pillars: comfort, conscious luxury, environmental awareness and natural stability.

Prestige M48

I think the M48 is going to be well received in Asia and when we talk to Asia Yachting, it’s clear that’s what their customers are asking for: huge volumes and comfort on board. And that’s the feedback we got from all over the world but especially Asia.

Do you think Prestige surprised its competitors by moving into multihulls?

I think it was a surprise for them. I think we may have surprised them with our timing and if you look at Boot Dusseldorf this year, Prestige was the only exhibitor in Hall 6 (for luxury yachts) with a powercat.

However, I think if we meet in two years or three years, other brands could have power cats. We created a boat that interests a lot of owners of monohulls, multihulls and sailing boats, as well as first-time boat owners.

Prestige M48

It feels like there’s a trend and a lot of companies are talking about it, but for now, we’re going to distribute the boat everywhere. The first one in Asia will be in Hong Kong by the end of this year or early 2024, there will be one at the Japan International Boat Show in Yokohama in March 2024, one in Australia for the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in May 2024 and so on.

As a brand, we’ve ensured that the first 15 units are dedicated to visibility around the world, to cover the main markets and main boat shows.

What about the M8 model in build at Groupe Beneteau Italia in Monfalcone and the most expensive Prestige model to date?

The M8 is coming with a new dimension of comfort. It’s a high-end catamaran representing a new generation, linking comfort and luxury with luminous spaces. It’s going to put Prestige and the M-Line on another level. We’re not talking to the same customers; instead, we’re talking to superyacht owners that want more stability and efficiency.

Prestige M8

On the finishing, the materials, the layout, the furniture, we’re putting the M8 on the level we want to put the brand to be able to talk to those customers, who are owners of 80-90ft superyachts that want to feel the same volume, but in a more compact platform. That’s what the M8 is about.

The debut of the M8 will be at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September 2023. It will be hull two and will feature a ‘silent mode’ due to the use of solar panels, so you don’t have to use the generator. Hull one is for the US.

So, Prestige believes multihull motor yachts are here to stay?

When you look at the advantages multihulls bring – efficiency, comfort and stability, and space – that’s everything our yachting customers are looking for today. They’re looking for those key points when they’re purchasing a boat and the M-Line power catamarans are ticking all the boxes. It’s a trend we’ve seen for the past few years, it’s going to grow and it’s going to stay.

Asia Yachting Open Day

Hong Kong and some Southeast Asia markets have a bias towards Italian and British motor yacht builders, especially in the 50-100ft motor yacht market. Although Prestige has done very well in the 40-70ft segment, does the brand have to upgrade its image to remain a leader in this sector?

Today, Prestige is the leading brand for 40-60ft flybridge motor yachts, but we have a demand for a higher level of finish and bigger sizes and volumes. The X-Line answers this demand in the 60-70ft segment, but as we look to keep leading the 40-60ft flybridge market, we’re developing the F-Line to ensure we continue to answer all the needs of our clients and future owners within the 40-80ft range.

www.prestige-yachts.com

www.asiayachting.net

Della Pearce: Singapore shining again

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

Della Pearce: Singapore shining again

May 24, 2023
10:51 pm

In a Column for YACHT STYLE, Della Pearce of Hong Seh explains that she’s delighted to see her home city take centre stage again, with stunning yachts making their Asia debuts, regional and international sailing events, and lots to look forward to in the coming year.

Della Pearce, Fernando Alonso and Edward Tan at the Sunreef event in Singapore

Singapore and the region have experienced a great deal of yachting activity since late last year, when we welcomed Sunreef ambassador Fernando Alonso as the two-time F1 champion visited Singapore (click for article) and later hosted the first Ferretti Beach Out on Lazarus Island (click for article). This is largely due to the increasing number of events in the Southeast Asia region and the growing affluence in the region.

The area’s climate makes it an ideal location for yachting, with steady winds, warm temperatures and plenty of sunshine throughout the year. Furthermore, with sophisticated marinas and world-class yacht clubs, Singapore and its neighbouring states are quickly becoming a hub for yachting enthusiasts from around the region.

Hong Seh concluded 2022 with the Ferretti Beach Out

EXCITING ARRIVALS

Last year was incredible for large boat deliveries in Singapore, with over 10 superyachts ranging from 28-44m delivered into the city. We’re proud to say that Hong Seh accounted for five of those including a Custom Line Navetta 30, the brand’s first new build sold into the city.

The sales of these superyachts coincide with the number of family offices that have now moved to Singapore. Furthermore, with the presence of these larger yachts, there has been a growing demand for professional yacht management services in Singapore that weren’t needed for smaller boats.

Riva Rivamare

As Singapore’s exclusive dealer for Ferretti Yachts, Riva and Pershing from Italy’s Ferretti Group, Hong Seh Yachting is now looking forward to delivering two iconic, luxury boats to clients in Singapore – a Rivamare and a wallypower58. With their sleek designs and state-of-the-art features, they offer exceptional comfort and luxury to their owners.

A stalwart of Riva’s iconic Open series, the Rivamare is a 39ft yacht which has been meticulously crafted to offer opulent living quarters, with stylish interiors and a spacious deck.

Wally’s wallypower 58

On the other hand, the wallypower58 boasts an innovative design that optimises space and performance. These Riva and Wally models are exceptional boats that are sure to impress anyone who enjoys the finer things in life.

EVENTS GALORE

The recent Singapore Yachting Festival showcased the latest and greatest in yachting technology, equipment and accessories.

Hong Seh hosted a Ferretti Yachts 500 open day in February

The four-day event provided an opportunity for visitors to get up close and personal with a range of stunning yachts and boats, and to learn more about the various aspects of yachting.

Featuring seminars, demonstrations and exhibitions from leading experts within the yachting industry, the Festival offered a wealth of information for both experienced yachtsmen and those new to boating.

Hong Seh Yachting and Ferretti Group at Singapore Yachting Festival

Our display at the Singapore Yachting Festival included the Asia debut of the Ferretti Yachts 860 – the brand’s third-largest model – a Ferretti Yachts 780, Ferretti Yachts 720 and a Ferretti Yachts 500. It was great to spend several days with friends from Ferretti Group in Italy and the Ferretti Group Asia Pacific office in Hong Kong, who all flew in for the event.

We also displayed a Schaefer V33 from Brazil and a Zodiac Medline 6.8 RIB from France, as we also represent Sunreef, Boston Whaler, Schaefer and Zodiac under Hong Seh Marine.

Four Ferretti Yachts models at the Singapore Yachting Festival

Earlier in the year, Singapore’s first SailGP marked a significant milestone in the nation’s history of sailing. The event brought the world’s top sailors and teams to Singapore to compete in thrilling races aboard high-performance F50 catamarans.

The event showcased Singapore’s ability to host world-class sporting events, with state-of-the-art facilities and stunning views of the city skyline providing a perfect backdrop for the races. There were a fleet of 80-100 boats out on the water to view the F50s, a spectacle in itself.

SailGP in Singapore

Soon after, this year’s edition of the Neptune Regatta again started at Nongsa Point Marina on the Indonesian island of Batam, an hour’s ferry ride southeast of Singapore, with participants sailing to the equator.

The regatta attracts participants from the local community as well as international sailors. The competition features several categories, including cruising and racing divisions, and includes both power and sail vessels.

ONE°15 Marina Nirup Island

There’s plenty more to look out for south of Singapore, with the highly anticipated marina on Nirup Island set to open its doors to the public in the middle of the year. Even closer to Singapore than Batam is, the small Indonesian island is surrounded by coral reefs and clear blue water, and will feature luxurious resort accommodation and a host of yachting amenities.

As the countdown to its opening continues, expectations remain high, and boaters are already eagerly awaiting the chance to experience Nirup Island for themselves.

SINGAPORE SAILING

And there’s more to look forward to. Hong Seh recently became a sponsor of the 35-strong Singapore Sailing Team (click for article), whose competitions include the SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in May and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from September 23-October 8.

Hong Seh with the Singapore Sailing Team

Our sponsorship also covers the Paris 2024 Olympics in France, where the sailing competition will be held in Marseille from July 28-August 8.

Hong Seh’s representation of Sunreef since last year marked the company’s entry into sailing and power catamarans including solar-electric Eco models, so this sponsorship echoed our growing commitment to the sailing community.

Edward Tan receives a Singapore Sailing Federation jacket

Edward Tan, Executive Director of Hong Seh Group, presented a cheque for SG$70,000 to the Singapore Sailing Federation in April. Asian Games gold medallists Cecilia Low and Kimberly Lim, who aim to defend their 49erFX title at the Hangzhou Asian Games, were among over 30 athletes, coaches, Executive Board members and senior management attending the cheque presentation.

The sponsorship will help cover costs for uniforms, technical and competition apparel

for the sailors, coaches and support staff. The Federation even presented Edward with an official Singapore Sailing jacket featuring the Hong Seh logo on the right sleeve.

DELLA PEARCE

Della Pearce (second left) and Hong Seh colleagues

Pearce is Director of both Hong Seh Yachting, which represents Ferretti Yachts, Riva and Pershing, and Hong Seh Marine, representing Sunreef, Boston Whaler, Schaefer and Zodiac, while the company’s services include yacht management, chartering, maintenance and brokerage. She entered the industry in 2005, mentored by Scott Walker of Asia Pacific Superyachts Singapore, and apprenticed at a marina, assisting with RYA sailing courses before graduating from Singapore Maritime Academy. From 2011, she worked for Simpson Marine in Singapore and Hainan before joining Hong Seh in 2016.

dellarugdee@hongseh.com.sg / www.hongsehmarine.com.sg

Simpson Marine statement on potential Sanlorenzo acquisition

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

Simpson Marine statement on potential Sanlorenzo acquisition

April 28, 2023
4:23 pm

Simpson Marine has issued a statement about its proposed acquisition by Sanlorenzo, which it has represented in Asia since 2015.

Mike Simpson, founder and Managing Director of Simpson Marine

The following is based on a statement issued by Simpson Marine:

As Simpson Marine heads towards the milestone of 40 years of business operations in Asia, the company is now pursuing a new strategic direction, with Mike Simpson actively preparing for his well-deserved retirement while ensuring the company’s passage into the coming decades of success and expansion.

Established in 1984 in Hong Kong by Mike Simpson and progressively expanding over Asia with 11 offices in seven markets including Hong Kong (HQ), mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore (SEA HQ), Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, Simpson Marine has become synonymous with the highest standards of business practices in the yachting industry in Asia-Pacific.

With over 3,500 yachts sold in Asia, a team of 140 professionals and an integrated business model including sales of new yachts and superyachts, yacht brokerage, charter, yacht management, service, water toys and tenders along with a new sailing academy in Thailand, Simpson Marine Group has become the reference for yachting across the region. Simpson Marine often serves as an exemplary case study to regional governments seeking advice and guidance in their maritime expansion.

Over the years, Simpson Marine has represented some of the world’s leading yachting brands, with its present portfolio including Sanlorenzo, Bluegame, Beneteau, Lagoon, Fairline, Aquila and Highfield. The Simpson Marine team played a crucial role in establishing the Sanlorenzo brand in Asia after a strategic portfolio evolution from Azimut to Sanlorenzo back in 2015.

Since then, Simpson Marine’s Sanlorenzo Asia division has welcomed nearly 70 Sanlorenzo yachts and superyachts of all sizes and ranges into Asia. The 10 arrivals in February and March 2023 alone are a testament to the growing success of the brand within Asia.

Simpson Marine has about 140 employees across Asia

The Asian market has been extremely receptive to Sanlorenzo’s brand values and world-class offering of unique, bespoke and custom-built yachts. Many other factors have had strong appeal to local clientele, including the shipyard’s commitment to sustainable yachting through its constant research into green propulsion and sustainable materials, and its intrinsic commitment to art.

With an understanding of the tremendous potential of yachting in the Asia-Pacific, Sanlorenzo is formally considering a strategic investment into Simpson Marine Group, which would further strengthen its presence and footprint in the region.

A non-binding MOU between Mike Simpson, Simpson Marine founder and Managing Director, and Massimo Perotti, Sanlorenzo SpA Chairman, was signed in early April 2023. A further study on this potential investment is currently ongoing and will be completed over the next few months.

The long relationship between Mike Simpson and Massimo Perotti dates to 1986 when Simpson Marine took on the dealership of Azimut in Asia. At the time Perotti was working for Azimut in Italy under the leadership of its then-Chairman Paolo Vitelli and eventually became Managing Director of the Azimut Group. He collaborated closely with Mike on the growth of Azimut in Asia through Simpson Marine until leaving Azimut in 2004.

In 2005, Perotti acquired Sanlorenzo from Giovanni Jannetti and since then he has led the company through a dramatic transformation from €40 million of revenue with 75 employees to become a leading yacht and superyacht builder with more than 700 employees and nearly €1 billion of revenue logged for the coming year.

Massimo Perotti, Chairman of Sanlorenzo

Having focused on the company evolution in its first 10 years, Perotti approached Mike Simpson in early 2014 regarding a potential representation of Sanlorenzo in Asia by Simpson Marine. This meant a strategic change of Simpson Marine’s brand portfolio and de facto parting ways with their historic partner, the Azimut-Benetti Group.

Both Sanlorenzo and Simpson Marine were also linked by a strategic investment from the Chinese investor Sundiro, which took a minority stake at Sanlorenzo and Simpson Marine and was due to take a majority stake of Simpson Marine in pursuit of their vision of exponential growth of yachting operations (sales, services and infrastructure) in China and Asia.

The Sundiro investment into Simpson Marine wasn’t completed due to external reasons, and Sanlorenzo later bought back their shares from Sundiro in 2019. Despite this turn of events, the link between Simpson Marine and Sanlorenzo has become a strong one and this relationship has resulted in the spectacular success of the Sanlorenzo brand in Asia, with the region accounting for up to 23 per cent of the shipyard’s revenues in the past years.

Simpson Marine’s priority is always its customers. While the discussions between the companies are underway, it is business as usual and Simpson Marine’s engagement with all partner shipyards remains strong.

Likewise, its commitment to the customers and yacht owners purchasing yachts of all brands remains unchanged. All Simpson Marine customers can be guaranteed of the company’s standard market-leading service they are accustomed to. Both parties will continue to communicate as discussions progress.

www.simpsonmarine.com

Asiamarine enters new era with new brands

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

Asiamarine enters new era with new brands

April 28, 2023
1:10 am

As it celebrates its 10th anniversary, Asiamarine has added Swan and Silent-Yachts to a portfolio of brands including Galeon, Bali and Nimbus. Words: John Higginson; Photos: Asiamarine & Shipyards

Asiamarine hosted a three-day boat show at Club Marina Cove in Hong Kong

Asiamarine bounded into the Year of the Rabbit in sprightly fashion, after a back-to-back series of announcements that have grown its regional footprint and expanded its yacht offerings into the sailing monohull and solar-electric sectors.

In recent months, Asiamarine was appointed to manage Galeon Asia – overseeing a dealer network in nine countries beyond its core territories of Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand – before being announced as the dealer for Nautor Swan and Silent-Yachts in multiple markets. No wonder the company’s annual party at Chinese New Year looked so much fun.

Asiamarine’s Chinese New Year party at Aberdeen Marina Club

As excited as CEO Eric Noyel is about both new brands and moving into new sectors of the yachting market, he’s clear that motor yacht powerhouse Galeon remains Asiamarine’s flagship brand, as it has been since 2016, when the builder also started to be represented by MarineMax in the US.

Meanwhile, Asiamarine’s sales of Bali sailing catamarans and Nimbus day boats have been solid since the brands joined the dealership’s widening portfolio in mid-2020 and late 2021 respectively.

Benjamin Tabuteau (right) and colleagues at Asiamarine Thailand

“Galeon remains our anchor brand, followed by Bali and Nimbus, while Swan and Silent are complementary because they’re focused on different but growing segments,” says Noyel, who founded Asiamarine in March 2013. “However, Galeon still feels very new and there are still many markets around the region to break into.”

EXPANDING TERRITORY

For starters, Asiamarine sold and delivered its first Galeon in the Philippines last year, with the 460 Fly followed by a 325 GTO later in the year. Thailand welcomed its first 500 Fly, Galeon’s iconic ‘transformer’ model that made the brand a household name, while Singapore welcomed its first new 500 Fly in late 2021.

Asiamarine showcases Galeon yachts in Hong Kong

Recently, the first new Galeon bought in Taiwan, again a 500 Fly, was sold by a new dealer appointed under Galeon Asia, which is managed by Vietnam-based Michel Joly, Asiamarine’s Regional Dealership Manager.

To date, Asiamarine has sold over 60 Galeon yachts into the region, including a 640 Fly in Hong Kong. Noyel believes the current network of satisfied clients, primarily in Hong Kong, are creating a widening circle of influence that he believes will be replicated in other markets.

“Galeon has been focusing on quality and innovation, and it’s paying off. Compared to some very famous brands from Italy and the UK, Galeon is still a new name in Asia, but now there are enough clients who have shown they’re happy to buy a Galeon motor yacht from Poland,” he says.

A Galeon 640 Fly (left) in Hong Kong

“Once you have a few owners and role models who own Galeon boats, then people tend to follow. We have some really good, reliable, trustworthy clients who have their circle of influence and so the brand is growing gradually. People who have been on board a Galeon know the quality, so I think most of the groundbreaking has been done.”

Galeon has collaborated with UK-based Tony Castro Yacht Design for over two decades and is best known for its iconic ‘beach mode’ models popularised by the 500 Fly and its drop-down wings, waterside bar and transformable outdoor areas. It was followed by the 460 Fly, 640 Fly, 400 Fly, the 440 Fly last year and the 560 Fly that debuted at this year’s Miami International Boat Show.

However, Noyel is most excited about the brand’s new flagship, the 800 Fly, which debuted at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show last October. The Frenchman has been aboard and believes the Category A boat would make a strong impression in Asia.

Galeon’s new flagship 800 Fly

“The boat is massive, and the quality of the interior styling has gone up a lot. It’s a really nicely executed 83ft yacht and competitively priced. It’s also a Category A boat, so you can take it offshore, which makes it stand out from most of the competition in that size range,” says Noyel, who believes the model is priced at least 20 per cent below competitors.

“It’s a great boat for Asia and a very good first ‘regional’ model for someone who wants a longer range and to explore other countries. It’s in a size sector where other brands have a long history, so I’d like to have a first one here to show the difference. Once we have one, it can show its own merits, which are plenty. I think the first one in Asia will be very appealing.”

GALEON, NIMBUS DAY BOATS

At the other end of the size scale, Galeon is growing its GTO range of Grand Touring Outboards, which started in early 2021 with the 325 GTO, a model sold in Hong Kong later that year by Asiamarine Yacht Broker Candy Li, while last year units were delivered to the Philippines and Singapore.

Galeon’s new 375 GTO Fly

Last year the builder launched the powerful 375 GTO, which has not one but two side decks and is a fun-packed, transformer day boat, with flexible, multi-functional furniture again a dominant theme.

“The 375 GTO is interesting because it has balconies on both sides, so that really extends the platform. It’s only 5ft longer than the 325 GTO, but it feels like a much bigger boat, substantially bigger,” Noyel says.

“Now that we have the 325 GTO in Hong Kong, Philippines and Singapore, this style of fun day boat is starting to gain traction. However, I think these models may have more appeal in Southeast Asia than in Hong Kong, where there’s still a strong preference for flybridge models.”

Nimbus T11 in Hong Kong

Noyel echoes this sentiment for the range of boats from Nimbus, which it represents in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The historic Swedish builder was founded in 1968 and its lines include Tender (T8, T9, T11), Commuter (C8, C9, C11) and Day Cruisers including the 305 Drophead, Weekender 9 (W9) and the Weekender 11 (W11) due to launch this year.

Nimbus’s portfolio is headed by its Coupé Cruisers including the 305, 365 and 405 Coupé models, 405 Flybridge and flagship 465 Coupé – also a flybridge model – due to launch in 2024. Asiamarine’s Singapore office recently sold a T9 X-edition, the company’s first sale of an X-edition model.

A Nimbus T9 X-edition was sold in Singapore

“It’s the same for Nimbus as it is for Galeon’s GTO range, as we see them growing in popularity in Southeast Asia. We’ve sold all our models in Singapore, all our models in Thailand, but it has been slow in Hong Kong. I think people who buy those boats in Hong Kong are younger and probably go for more ‘show off’ brands, which have a similar boat with a bit less quality but more colourful paint!”

FROM BALI TO ASIA

Bali represented Asiamarine’s entry into the world of catamarans and the dealer has sold over a dozen units to date, a decent return considering its first order arrived in late 2020.

Bali catamarans at the Asiamarine show at Marina Cove

The entry-level Catspace, which debuted at Boot Dusseldorf in January 2020, is the brand’s best-selling model in Asia followed by the flagship 5.4 and the 4.2, with the dealer recently hosting an Open Day (click for article).

To celebrate a landmark birthday, Noyel commissioned his own customised 4.8, Happy Fifty, featuring Minotti upholstery and furniture, and a hard top, using it in the Med before bringing it to Hong Kong. As with Galeon, Asiamarine is still entering new markets with the brand, with the first unit in Singapore, a Catspace, arriving in late 2021 and the first sale to Thailand arriving in the past year.

Asiamarine staff at the Bali 4.2 Open Day in April

However, it has been tough for Bali to keep producing boats as fast as it sells them, with the French shipyard among many doing their best to keep up with orders in the Covid era.

Olivier Poncin only founded the leisure cat brand in 2014 as an offshoot of his Catana Group, yet the brand soon gained attention because of pioneering features like the signature ‘Bali door’, a full flybridge on smaller models, a forward saloon door and solid foredecks.

Following the release of the flagship 5.4, the company quickly unveiled five new models within two years from 2020. The Catspace, 4.2, 4.4, 4.6 and 4.8 cover a core size range from 40-48ft and huge sales of each model have positioned the brand as a genuine competitor to long-established market leaders like Lagoon, Fountaine Pajot and Leopard.

Asiamarine broker Jacqueline Lee (left) at the Bali 4.2 Open Day

“Bali has had rapid growth. Five or so years ago, it was making only a couple of dozen boats a year, so it has been quite a transformation, while logistics and supply-chain issues have also not helped. We’ve had some delays in deliveries, but the sales have gone up nicely,” says Noyel, who is eagerly awaiting the brand’s full-scale release of its power catamarans, another sector he believes is growing significantly.

SAILING WITH SWAN

Following its moves into catamarans with Bali and day boats with Nimbus, Asiamarine has moved into the world of sailing monohulls with Swan, one of the industry’s most iconic brands.

Asiamarine’s appointment as the brand’s representative in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam followed its appointment in mid-2022 as the dealer for the Swan Shadow, the first motor yacht produced by the builder since it was founded in Finland in 1966.

The Swan 48 by German Frers is the Finnish brand’s entry model

The appointment came in time for Asiamarine staff to attend this year’s edition of Boot Dusseldorf, where Nautor Swan debuted the Swan 48 MKII and announced details of the upcoming ClubSwan 43, a cruising-friendly addition to the builder’s range of one-design racing yachts.

Noyel, who grew up sailing in the south of France, is excited about the potential of the premium brand, which builds sailing monohulls across three series: Swan Yachts (Swan 48-Swan 78), Maxi Swan Yachts (Swan 88-Swan 128) and ClubSwan Yachts (ClubSwan 36-ClubSwan 125).

“My hopes for Swan are huge. Firstly, because I think the sailing market is coming back to life very strongly. The ratio of sailing yachts versus motor yachts has increased for the first time in over a decade and that applies across all sizes including superyachts, which we know through Fraser,” he says.

The Shadow is Swan’s first motor yacht

“Secondly, the Swan brand has an immense following among experienced sailors in Asia who know it from its international reputation. Swan has been a bit quiet in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, but I anticipate the brand will catch up in two to three years.

“It will take time to build momentum as it requires an investment on our side in getting people to experience the brand, explaining why it’s different and building on the large number of people who know the brand in mature sailing markets, which includes Hong Kong.”

THE SILENT ERA

As if that wasn’t enough, Asiamarine is also taking its first steps representing Silent-Yachts in Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.

Founded by Austrian Michael Köhler, the builder is a pioneer of solar-electric powercats and is currently producing its new range of Silent 60, 62 3-Deck, 80 and 80 3-Deck models across its own facility in Fano on Italy’s east coast and in Turkey’s VisionF shipyard, where the flagship Silent 120 is also in build.

Silent 60 in Mallorca

The first few units of the Silent 60 were built in Thailand and have been delivered to Europe and the US, and although other builders have moved or are moving into the sector, Asia is still awaiting its first solar-electric catamaran. That is until 2024, when Noyel says the first Silent 62 3-Deck will be delivered to this region.

“I think solar-electric powercats are going to be very much in demand so in anticipation of that, we wanted to work with Silent-Yachts,” he says. “Like Swan, it’s brand-new for us and still in the ‘cooking’ stage. We only started a couple of months ago, but we have a lot of leads of our own and from Silent Yachts. People are curious and the interest is there.”

Following the initial builds of the Silent 60, almost all subsequent orders of the 60 series are for the 62 3-Deck, which – like the 80 3-Deck – offers a full flybridge in either an open or enclosed version.

The Silent 62 3-Deck has a larger flybridge

While Noyel is confident of the appeal of solar-electric propulsion, a 60ft flybridge catamaran is a significant ‘starter model’ for a market such as Hong Kong where wide-beamed catamarans of that size are still a minority. Furthermore, the starting price can appear quite steep, although Noyel says they’re “worth every penny” due to the almost total absence of fuel costs and reduced maintenance.

“I think solar-electric yachts have a good future, but 60ft and 80ft catamarans are still quite big for Hong Kong marinas. Technically, I think Silent-Yachts is producing the most advanced solar-electric propulsion system, although it might be interesting to discuss working with an interior designer to customise models for the local market.”

FRASER REVIVAL IN ASIA

Asiamarine has represented Fraser since 2018 and has secured an average of three to four annual sales of superyachts during its best years. However, Noyel admits that 2022 was tough, but also that Fraser Asia has started the new year strongly, as people in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia welcome an almost total relaxation of travel restrictions.

Fraser Asia sold the 38m Sanlorenzo Phoenix

“We’ve done as much business in Fraser in the first couple of months of this year than we did all of last year,” Noyel laughs. “For us, it’s still a very volatile market, which depends on a small number of very big deals. The superyacht business feeds off our regular new build, brokerage and charter businesses, and is what I call our ‘bonus business’.”

As well as being CEO of Asiamarine, Noyel is Managing Director of Fraser Asia, whose recent sales include the 38m Sanlorenzo SD122 Phoenix, sold to the Middle East (click for article).

Benjamin Tabuteau of Fraser Asia sold the 86ft Sunseeker Maxxx

Noyel is delighted that more Asiamarine staff have recently become qualified Sales Brokers for Fraser including Phuket-based Benjamin Tabuteau, General Manager of Asiamarine’s Thailand operation, who last year secured his first superyacht sale, the 86ft Sunseeker Maxxx.

Raphael Sachs, Asiamarine’s Bangkok-based Regional VP Sales New Boats, is also a registered Sales Broker for Fraser.

“It really helps to have a team of Sales Brokers for Fraser, while all our other Asiamarine staff can help them when they have a lead or yacht to sell,” Noyel says. “Now, we’re better integrated into the Fraser network, use their resources more, and are increasingly interacting with other Fraser offices and brokers.

Fraser Asia’s beach clean-up in Hong Kong

“For example, if we have a client in Asia who wants to buy a yacht in Europe, but they want to deal with a Monaco or Florida broker, then we help ensure they deal with a Monaco or Florida broker. These dynamics are growing nicely.”

Noyel says the strong start to 2023 for Fraser Asia extends to its charter business, which had been almost non-existent in Southeast Asia during a couple of years of strict travel restrictions in the region.

Laura Verbrugge, who has been with the company since January 2018, and Sum Lo are Charter Brokers for Asiamarine in Hong Kong, while Verbrugge is also a Charter Broker for Fraser.

Asiamarine staff at Club Marina Cove

“A very positive development is the resumption of international charter, which had disappeared for many of our clients,” says Noyel, whose Fraser clients target the Mediterranean and Caribbean as much as Asia-Pacific. “We did more charter bookings in January and February this year than we did across 2021 and 2022!”

If its start to the Year of the Rabbit is any indication, Asiamarine has a lot to look forward to in its second decade.

www.asiamarine.com

Note: The original article appeared in YACHT STYLE Issue 70

Iain Smallridge on Pearl challenging the “big brands”

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

Iain Smallridge on Pearl challenging the “big brands”

April 17, 2023
11:15 pm

Founder and Managing Director of Pearl Yachts, Iain Smallridge has established the boutique British builder in Europe and the US, and is now setting his sights on the Middle East and Far East. Interview: John Higginson; Photos: Pearl

Pearl Yachts is best known in Europe and the US, so are you now hopeful of a push into Asia following the appointment of VP Yachts as your Hong Kong dealer?

We know that the brand and the product range should sell in Hong Kong. It’s just a case of developing that relationship with VP Yachts and trying to get some product there. We find that if we put Pearl yachts in any established boating market, it snowballs.

Getting the first one there is always the most difficult thing. We’re sold out for a year or so, so we need to see how we can get a boat there or at least display one en route to somewhere else. Once we show one to local clients, we know we can grow the market.

Smallridge with Vivian Chan of VP Yachts, which represents Pearl in Hong Kong

Why did Pearl create the tagline ‘Boutique Yacht Builder – Since 1998’?

Boutique yacht builder sums us up, as we produce a small volume of high-quality yachts. In 2023, we’ll deliver 12 units between 60-100ft, we’ll do 15 in 2024 and then we’ve scheduled 18 in 2025. We’re increasing volume but incrementally. We’re not going to be building hundreds of boats a year, but we’d like to build a handful of high-quality yachts each year in specific markets around the world.

Our key markets are currently Europe and the US, and it’s about a 50-50 split. We’ve just started in Australia and are looking to develop in the Middle East and Far East. They’re really the key markets.

Like all Pearl models, the 62 features a Bill Dixon exterior

Our current model range starts with the Pearl 62, which has been very popular since we launched it at Boot Dusseldorf in 2020. We just sold hull number 23 in January, so it has been a popular model.

Bill Dixon handles all your exterior design, while Pearl is the only production yacht builder to feature interiors with Kelly Hoppen, who has designed the homes, yachts and jets of many famous clients that have included David and Victoria Beckham. How did a ‘boutique yacht builder’ secure such A-list designers?

We’ve worked with Bill Dixon for about two decades, after Pearl’s current owners took over. Bill is one of the world’s most respected yacht designers and Dixon Yacht Design handles all the exteriors and naval architecture of our yachts, so the handling of our boats is one of our key attractions.

Pearl 62 with Luxury interior by Kelly Hoppen MBE

Kelly gives us spectacular interiors. Like Bill, she’s also from the UK and has made her name as a celebrity designer, working with a lot of celebrities on their residential properties and second homes.

She did a couple of superyachts before we commissioned her about a decade ago. In the yachting field, she now designs exclusively for Pearl and has done the interiors of all our models from the Pearl 75 onwards.

Master suite on the Pearl 72

We started working with Kelly as I thought we needed something different. Before that, the boat industry tended to have variations of the same theme. We went through the high-gloss cherry wood and cream leather phase that every boat builder did for 10 years. Then everybody went to satin walnut and cream carpets, and there was too much of that.

Back then, having an interior designer was seen as quite opulent and a bit nouveau riche, but we asked Kelly to give us a different angle and we’ve become renowned for spectacular interiors. We now have three different styles called Modern, Luxury and Indulgence. The customer can choose any of those schemes in any of our boat models.

Saloon on the Pearl 95

So, you can have Indulgence in the 62 and Luxury in the 95, for instance. Gone are the days when a client must sit down at a boardroom table with 1,000s of samples of materials, which a customer doesn’t really enjoy. The shipyard doesn’t enjoy it. You either end up with exactly what you saw at the boat show or a bit of a mishmash.

This way, the customers get the expertise of a designer interior, but they still have a choice. If they don’t want a light wood interior, there’s an option for a dark wood; if they don’t want a dark wood, there’s an option for a two-tone.

Master suite in the Pearl 95

We find it works well and most customers like the fact that they can select the boat and the interior: ‘I want that boat with that interior’. It’s one of the things we’ve become renowned for.

Considering the Pearl 62’s popularity since 2020, what’s notable about the new Pearl 72, which recently had its European debut at Boot Dusseldorf following its world premiere at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show last October?

One of Pearl’s big attributes is that every new model has unique features – several elements that make it desirable.

The Pearl 62 launched the brand’s new generation of models

Compared to other models in our size ranges, Pearl is renowned for having an extra cabin, an extra feature, a beach club or a garage that nobody else does. This makes customers want to explore further. For instance, the Pearl 62 has four guest cabins plus the option of a crew cabin or a garage, which is unique in that market.

Similarly, the Pearl 72 is the only boat in its segment to have four two-berth guest cabins with en-suite bathrooms.

Pearl 72’s European debut at Boot Dusseldorf 2023

Other models of that size may include a bunk cabin or three heads, but we’ve got four full head-height double or twin cabins, all with en-suites. It also has a proper garage for a Williams SportJet 345 tender, jet-ski and Seabob; there’s no other 70-footer in our market that has a garage like that.

The 72 also has a beach club with a fold-down sofa and wings that drop down to give you extra space on the water.

Aft storage on the Pearl 72

We also have fold-down sides on the Pearl 95, while the upcoming 82 will have dropdown wings on the cockpit level, as opposed to the swim platform.

How else does Pearl differentiate itself from competitors in the very competitive 60-100ft flybridge motor yachts sector?

Apart from the interior and exterior design, and unique features, another element that sets us apart is value for money. We’ve made sure all our boats are competitively priced against competitors, so we have a percentage advantage. Everybody’s prices are up and down like a yoyo, but we’re priced 10 20 per cent less than some of our competitors’ comparable models.

The Pearl 72

There’s also service and warranty. We offer a five-year warranty, which is the industry-leading warranty. People often ask, ‘Why would I buy a Pearl?’ There’s not one thing; there are several key elements and we work hard on all those. It’s the mixture of all those elements that adds the value for the customer. We need to do things differently to pull clients away from these big brands.

You look to be going from strength to strength with the upcoming Pearl 82, set for 2024.

The 82 is actually a really good-looking raised pilothouse design. The exterior may be the hardest challenge. It’s easy to build a boat with lots of volume that looks like a brick. However, try to create an 82-footer with a raised pilothouse and five guest cabins – which nobody else has done on a boat this size – and keep it looking sleek. This comes back to Dixon Yacht Design.

The Pearl 82 will launch in 2024

Its unique features are five guest cabins on an 80-footer including a main-deck master cabin with access out to the forepeak terrace. We’ve also incorporated access to the foredeck from the flybridge, where there’s a side door. The 82 offers full access around the outdoor areas, so the owner can go down from the flybridge to the foredeck, down to the forepeak and into the master cabin, without going through the interior. It’s all part of increasing accessibility around the boat.

We’ve got everything on our 80-footer that other companies have got on 100-footers for twice the price. And it has a garage that can house a tender, jet-ski, Seabobs and so on. Again, we’re trying to give maximum value, however that’s interpreted, to give customers a real reason to come away from the bigger brands. We’re quite confident the Pearl 82 will do that in the same way the 62 and 72 have.

The Pearl 82 includes a main-deck master cabin with forepeak access

We just need to keep doing it. I laugh because we’re starting to develop the next model and at a recent meeting with Bill [Dixon], we asked ourselves, ‘Where do we go now?’ How do we keep on trumping everything that everybody else does? Bill jokes that we may have shot ourselves in the foot because we’ve done everything on the 82, so we have to think about what to do on the next, bigger model. We’ll find something; we keep coming up with ideas.

How are sales of the Pearl 95, your flagship?

We’ve recently delivered number five and number six is being built. We’re doing just over one a year. In honesty, I’d like to do more, even up to two a year. The Pearl 95 is a really good-value 30m boat with a lot of attributes, although we can’t build dozens of them because we’ve got different production lines for the other new models. Sales are consistent for that size.

The Pearl 95 remains the brand’s flagship

It has become competitive in that size range. When we launched the 95, it was quite a unique design with a beach club and main-deck master, but since then, quite a lot of our competitors have added new models, which has made it more competitive.

www.pearlyachts.com

www.vpyachtsltd.com

Nick Stratton on Sanlorenzo Asia’s growing family

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

Nick Stratton on Sanlorenzo Asia’s growing family

April 12, 2023
2:39 am

Working for Simpson Marine since 2010, Nick Stratton has been the Sales Manager for the Sanlorenzo Asia division since 2017 and has seen the Italian brand continue to gain in popularity around the region.

Note: The following Column originally appeared in YACHT STYLE Issue 70

Nick Stratton, Sales Manager, Sanlorenzo Asia

Sat at my desk in Hong Kong after returning from the Sanlorenzo shipyards in Italy, I was reminded of the joy in being able to travel again, to see familiar faces and spend some wonderful days with clients doing what we do best – looking at and helping design some incredible yachts for use in Asia and beyond.

The pandemic days appear to be behind us, borders are open, and it has been great to feel the excitement of our owners and future owners wanting to visit our facilities in Italy and to enjoy their yachts outside of their home countries.

Recently in Thailand, I was fortunate to be enjoying coffee on board a stunning Sanlorenzo envisaging what will be a very busy year ahead with numerous exciting deliveries, new projects under construction, and further growth for Sanlorenzo and Bluegame across the Asia-Pacific region.

Sanlorenzo SD90

This will be an action-packed year, with a record number of deliveries into the region and the same to be said for new yachts under construction. In the first quarter of 2023, we witnessed the delivery of nine yachts from across the range including units from the SD, SX and SL lines plus Bluegame yachts.

Our service and commissioning teams are in full swing, and our management division is busy recruiting crew, arranging berthing and getting organised for a busy season ahead. We’re very thankful to our owners who have entrusted us with building their yachts and are committed to investing in the market wherever we can to improve infrastructure and support.

CAPTAINS WORKSHOP

In March, we hosted our first Sanlorenzo and Bluegame Captains Workshop in Hong Kong (click for article), which is home to a significant percentage of our Sanlorenzo fleet.

Sanlorenzo Asia Captains Workshop

Organised in collaboration with the shipyard’s own aftersales team, the Captains Workshop is intended to raise the standard of our captains by giving them access to a pool of professionals to learn from, while also allowing our Sanlorenzo team from Italy to gain more experience of our local markets, cruising conditions and infrastructure.

The Captains Workshop is exclusively available to Sanlorenzo and Bluegame captains, and we will extend the initiative to Southeast Asia in 2024 as our fleet of yachts grows across the region.

SD SERIES SUCCESS

Sanlorenzo has launched many new models in recent years and one that has been particularly successful is the Sanlorenzo SD118 (click for Review, Yacht Style Issue 66). A trideck with a volume of 298GT, she was a success from the day she was launched, with deliveries of orders now well into 2026.

We will shortly see three of these yachts cruising in Asia, with the first hull to be delivered this summer. All three have very different interior designs, but all will be used for the same purpose – to explore.

Sanlorenzo SD118

With a range exceeding 3,000nm, these yachts won’t be spending much time in their home ports and it’s always exciting for us to see where they cruise. We expect to see itineraries including the Maldives, Bali, Raja Ampat, Taiwan, Japan and many other parts of the region.

The not-so-little sisters to the SD118 include the huge-volume SD96, which has a semi-enclosed upper deck and is ideal for all-weather cruising, and the new SD90 (click for Review in Issue 70), which was premiered at last year’s Cannes Yachting Festival and is already sold out well into 2024.

SD96 units are already cruising extensively in the region, with more under construction, while an SD90 sold to this region is on schedule for a summer delivery in 2024.

ARTISTIC CONNECTIONS

Sanlorenzo’s close relationship with the art world continues and is something our team always enjoys and draws a lot of inspiration from. The shipyard presents art projects and installations at art and design events around the globe, such as Paris+ by Art Basel, Milan Design Week and Venice Biennale. It also supports selected modern art galleries and institutions throughout the world.

Since 2018, Sanlorenzo has partnered with Art Basel on its events in Hong Kong, Basel and Miami Beach, and is proud to continue to be the official global yacht partner. This year’s edition of Art Basel Hong Kong was held in late March, with Sanlorenzo Asia hosting an exclusive Collectors Lounge (click for article).

Chinese artist Li Qing at Art Basel Hong Kong

Art Basel is an opportunity to present the shipyard to like-minded individuals and to share inspiration and ideas for future projects.

As we get busier in the region with more yachts delivered, it’s important for us to stay true to our values on low production numbers, high quality, superior service and bespoke design. Our relationship with the art world is a representation of this commitment and allows our team to draw fresh perspectives.

With numerous projects in build and many more in the pipeline, we remain committed to supporting our owners in their yachting journey. This year will mark further investment in the region and an expansion of our presence into territories still new for Sanlorenzo.

We will be delivering yachts across the region, supported by in our in-house team of experts, while our sales team will be travelling, meeting clients and attending yacht shows. We thank all those that support the growth of Sanlorenzo and Bluegame across Asia- Pacific. We have high expectations for the market and are excited to start new journeys with new owners to build their dream yacht.

NICK STRATTON

Having joined Simpson Marine in 2010, Stratton has been the Sales Manager for the Sanlorenzo Asia division since 2017 and Sales Manager for Bluegame Asia after the regional dealer started representing Sanlorenzo’s sister brand in 2020. Formerly the company’s Country Manager for Singapore, Stratton has sold more than 200 yachts in Asia. Before moving to the region, he worked in the yachting industry in the UK.

nick.stratton@simpsonmarine.com

www.simpsonmarine.com

Who Dares Wins: Erwin Bamps on Prestige’s move into multihull market

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

Who Dares Wins: Erwin Bamps on Prestige’s move into multihull market

April 6, 2023
5:45 pm

During Bamps’ reign as Brand Director of Prestige, the Groupe Beneteau builder renowned for its flybridge and sport yacht series has pioneered the radical X-Line notable for its forward-raked windscreens, and widebody and asymmetrical layouts. However, with its new M-Line of multihull motor yachts, Bamps believes Prestige is moving to “a battlefield where we’re almost alone”.
Interview: Gael Burlot; Photos: Prestige

Erwin Bamps, Brand Director, Prestige

Prestige has arguably changed as much in the last four years as it had in the previous 30 in terms of yachts you’re offering. So, when you were appointed Brand Director in November 2018, what was your brief?

When they hired me, they said Prestige is already a brand, but it isn’t that well recognised as such and there’s still potential to develop. They wanted to really start showing it as an individual brand with its own vision and strategy, not so linked to where it came from, Jeanneau, and to find its own footing.

To take it to the next level, to be face to face with the world’s other established motor yacht brands, we needed to give it its own management and vision that’s not an extension of another Groupe Beneteau brand, so to find its own way forward.

First, we had to find its soul, what the brand is about. Prestige’s soul is about creating and adding quality of life. We believe a lot of that is on the water, so we want to give people the opportunity to enjoy that in comfort, while looking at a wide horizon and spending time with loved ones. We then looked at building opportunities to enhance that.

When we launched the X-Line with the X70 in 2020, that was a first step towards greater spaces than before, and less about speed, which almost naturally led to the multihull concept for even more space without compromising stability. The vision was not only to develop the brand in terms of how people perceive it in the market as a strong competitor but give it an opportunity to set itself apart.

Between the 520S and X60, the Prestige M48 was the first multihull in Hall 6 at Boot Dusseldorf

Today, we’re not in competition with anybody. As an example, we were the only motor yacht builder in Hall 6 at Boot Dusseldorf with a multihull. Visitors came to the Prestige stand and saw the 520S, which is in competition with Sunseeker, Princess, Azimut, Ferretti Yachts and so on. And then they walk over to the M48 and there’s nobody to compete with. We took the struggle and fight to a battlefield where we’re almost alone.

What’s an example of this?

We’re offering something out of the box for a motor yacht manufacturer. We’re showing that we’re willing to be daring and lead the market somewhere, rather than what we’ve been known for, which was to consolidate existing trends very well.

The brand has always distilled different market needs and successfully combined them in an original way. For instance, when the Prestige 500 was launched and offered a private staircase to the owner’s suite, it was novel at that time. Nobody else was including private access to the owner’s cabin at that size range. Today, we maintain that as it’s still an elementary need of our owners.

But now it’s no longer about detecting some specific trends. Now, we’re creating something that’s not a response to an existing market demand but instead anticipating what people want, but haven’t yet expressed to us.

Asia’s first Prestige M48 will arrive this year through regional dealer Asia Yachting

Nobody came up to us with an explicit request for a multihull with a full-beam master cabin, so we’ve taken a gamble and gone beyond any changes people expressed. That’s where we’re taking Prestige right now, to be able to anticipate market trends, with the visibility and the presence we have globally. This is something we didn’t do as much as we’re doing today.

After choosing to move into multihull motor yachts, how has Prestige tried to distinguish its design and appeal to existing clients?

The idea was based on being a motor yacht owner and if you were given a wider platform, independent of the ship, what you would dream of doing with that. However, we get the volume and increased area from height.

You can see our M48 compared to sailing cats and the height above the water. Sailing cats must keep a low centre of gravity and be wider to counterweight the mast, but this limits your indoor space on the lower deck, in the hulls. So, that’s why our M48 is taller and thinner.

Nobody’s doing this today, so we’re the leader in bringing this to the market from scratch, from a white paper concept. We’ve tried to integrate all the things that motor yacht owners have been looking for, even the ones that went to sailing cat builders but couldn’t find the full-beam cabin. We don’t have to compromise because we’re not working off an existing concept or GAs.

Where else are multihull motor yacht clients coming from?

I had a background in larger yachts and before I joined Prestige, one of the trends I saw were people upgrading to a 120-footer and then realising they lost their privacy on board, because you need crew to maintain and run a yacht that size.

CGI of the upcoming M8, a 65ft power catamaran

It’s costly, but more than the price, there’s no privacy, even if you try to create separate spaces, so we’ve seen people going back down in size to regain privacy onboard. It’s about being comfortable, about being able to throw your shoes in the corner and be on your own or with friends or family, and just be normal.

The second problem was that they couldn’t access the same marinas they used to when they had a 60-footer because it’s just so much harder to find a berth space. We talk about this issue for multihulls, but you try getting a 120-footer into any small marina during the high season in the Med.

So, we find people going to smaller yachts. I saw people go down in size very, very often in the years before I joined Prestige and I see those people come to us. We realised that by offering a multihull concept, you’re not only feeding into the trend of more space but we also see clients who were in or looking at entry-level superyachts coming to us and saying this makes a lot more sense.

The M48 is very manoeuvrable and easy to handle. People who were on our 520 find the M48 is technically less complex. The M48 is easier to run, easier to manoeuvre, easier to maintain. It has smaller engines, V drive, no stabiliser and a simpler equipment list. This all simplifies your maintenance and reduces your operational cost.

CGI of the interior of the upcoming M8

A lot of people have done rational analysis and come to the conclusion that the M48 and the multihull concept make a lot of sense, also in terms of how you want to live on board. There are many more reasons than these that are leading people to consider this truly as the way to go.

We’ve had the question the other way around, where people say, ‘Where have you been? Why wasn’t this introduced five years ago, 10 years ago?’ Honestly, the market wasn’t ready for it. I’m not talking about marinas, but a decade ago, people would be more worried about the fact a yacht doesn’t do 30 knots.

Even today, I have dealers telling me speed is a key issue because people want to show off, but how long does that really last.

The X-Line was certainly innovative, starting with the extralong aft cockpit and no side decks on the X70. How does that series fit today with your new-look portfolio, which includes the long-established F-Line flybridge models and S-Line sport yachts?

For us, the X-Line is not a transient product. You could imagine it was something we tried as a response to a market request for more space, more elbow space, easier circulation. For us, it’s not a transient or temporary step towards multihulls. We believe that there’s an existing clientele for all the four universes we have today.

The X70 features angular, forward-ranked windscreens

In fact, when a client, a couple or family come to the stand at a boat show, I try to imagine what they might like before I find out. Often, when the husband is looking first at the boat, he will go for something that has a bit of character to the profile and he’ll be the first one to say, ‘Let’s look at the X-Line’, because he likes the slanted window and profile, which is a bit more masculine, more daring.

Then very often we find that the wife starts looking at the traditional, sensual lines of the F-Line or S Line, because those models have elegant lines. Then you end up going from the X70 to the 690 and I’ve seen strong discussions on the stand between husband and wife. He says, ‘Look at the X70, my friends are going to love this.’

And the wife says, ‘Yeah, but this one is much nicer’, even if she loves the space onboard the X70. Then we’ve seen them going to the M48 and realising that it really feels like home.

That’s because when you sit at home watching TV, you prefer not to sit in a narrow, rectangular shape, because if you want to say something to the person on the other side of the sofa, you have to shout and there are only a few people well positioned in front of the TV.

The widebody X70 interior benefits from no side decks

We’re not used to enjoying ourselves in a narrow, hallway-style living room. And when you come on traditional motor yachts boats, builders try to make this living room in a narrow, rectangular shape as cosy as possible.

When you come into a multihull, it feels far more natural, like at home, because you’re in a squarish shape rather than rectangular and you can talk to the person on the other side of the room much more easily. It feels how we want to live at home.

At the shows, I noticed people were coming on the M48 and saying, ‘It’s like an apartment’. When they start explaining why, they say it feels lighter as there’s a lot more than luminosity and a squarish shape, which gives it a far more homely feeling.

However, we don’t think everybody is going to convert to a multihull. Not at all. We don’t have this ambition and we’re not arrogant enough to think that this is the way to go. We believe the multihull market will grow because it’s underrepresented today. We believe there are a lot of clients that have been buying monohulls because they didn’t find anything else.

It’s for the kind of client who wants to go and cruise around Croatia or other archipelagos, go island hopping and stay overnight on the water, not in a hotel. For a long time, they’ve been buying monohulls, which are great at planing, but when you do eight knots or are at anchor, they will prefer an M48.

The X60 has one side deck, to port

There are always going to be people who prefer a higher speed and nice lines and profile over comfort and space, but we see a faster-growing trend towards bigger space and multihulls than we see towards sport yachts, like the S-Line.

If I’m honest, I see that the F-Line will remain dominant for a while, multihulls will come up and the X Line will find its own clientele in-between, but will not be the big seller among the ranges.

Where do you imagine the four ranges will be positioned in the next few years?

I’ve written a plan for the next five years, which is based on what we feel, what we know, what we’ve analysed from markets, and from research analysing the market and predicting trends in Asia, the Americas and Europe. We believe the traditional flybridge will remain dominant and that the multihull, as a growing industry, will be a close second in about five years from now.

The navetta style will be floating in-between. However, the navetta is expensive because you have a complex technical solution to give people the maximum amount of space, but you must be very crafty at finding ways on a monohull to guarantee stability, even with a stabiliser and this and that.

Bamps believes the F-Line will remain Prestige’s leading series

There’s so much built-up area, so when I look at what others are doing with this kind of navetta-style, X-Line type of crossover-style yacht, they’re building a cruise ship. It takes a lot of engineering to make this happen because it’s basically an inverted pyramid! Naturally, even if you’re not a naval architect, you look at the multihull and you understand why it works.

Having seen sail and power catamarans growing for the past few years, do you think your traditional flybridge competitors or others will follow Prestige into the market?

At the boat shows in Cannes, Dusseldorf and so on, the ‘who’s who’ of the yachting industry have come to see the M48. Everybody’s thinking about it.

Groupe Beneteau has had Lagoon for a long time and now we have Excess, Prestige and Four Winns building multihulls. So, if the world’s biggest production boat builder is betting so heavily on the multihull segment to grow in the future, everybody else will be thinking about it – even if they didn’t think about it before.

But even if everybody is thinking about it, are they going to take the step? That’s another thing. Through Lagoon, Groupe Beneteau has been the market leader in sailing cats for a long, long time and not every other brand is able to benefit from the likes of Lagoon, Excess and Four Winns, their knowledge, experience, dealer networks, aftersales teams and so on.

The Prestige 690 is the F-Line flagship

We’re benefiting from a lot of the experience of Lagoon. I have a meeting with the Lagoon Brand Director every Monday. A lot of our competitors don’t have these resources.

Yet even if everyone is looking at it, it’s one thing to say there’s a trend and another to respond to it. Look what happened to SUVs in the automobile market. BMW jumped on it quickly, even though they had no heritage in four-wheel drives. The likes of Jeep and Land Rover built four-wheel drives.

But BMW recognised a trend, something they should invest in, and other brands jumped onto the bandwagon, even Lamborghini two decades later, so there are now even four-wheel drives for sports car brands.

So, I believe eventually that our competitors will venture into multihulls. Some will look for niche markets within it, some will look for the middle market, some for specific markets like commuter or for island-hopping markets.

The 590S is the largest model in the S-Line of sport yachts

We identified that the market where we are, the mid-size yacht market, is going to be the first to look at it in a big way. We’re betting heavily on it because we believe this is what our clients are looking for.

Every Prestige client I meet at shows is asking for enhanced comfort, fit, finish and refinement. Everything is about, ‘I want to have a second home’. That’s what it is. It’s really the ‘real estate on water’ idea. And there’s no better way to give them a floating, loft-style apartment.

http://www.prestige-yachts.com

http://www.asiayachting.net

Sunreef ambassador Mike Horn to explore ‘What’s Left’

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

Sunreef ambassador Mike Horn to explore ‘What’s Left’

March 27, 2023
9:45 pm

The South Africa-born adventurer is returning to remote destinations on the 35m Pangaea, which recently completed a refit at Sunreef.

Mike Horn, professional adventurer and Sunreef ambassador

Sunreef Yachts has recently completed a refit of Pangaea, which Mike Horn will use for his four-year ‘What’s Left’ expedition that includes the Arctic, Amazon, Patagonia and Antarctica. Horn plans to start his journey in April and reach Greenland in May, the professional adventurer and his team aim to assess changes that have occurred in remote areas over the past half-century and raise awareness of the importance of their preservation.

Born in South Africa and resident in Switzerland since his 20s, Horn has spent decades travelling the world’s most remote locations. His custom-designed Pangaea, a 35m aluminium ketch with an ice-breaker bow, was built in Brazil and delivered in 2007.

Pangaea before her refit at Sunreef

Its recent refit in Sunreef’s Polish facilities in the north-coast city of Gdansk was focused on making the yacht safer and more comfortable. Optimising the living space onboard, Sunreef added two double cabins as part of a complete interior renovation that included a complete upgrade of the dashboard trim.

Other priorities were improving the yacht’s performance, lighting, soundproofing and energy efficiency. To reduce the noise of the generator and engine on board, Sunreef installed new soundproofing for the engine room, with airtight seals isolating it from the living areas.

Pangaea at the Sunreef shipyard in Gdansk

New LED lights were installed throughout the yacht to reduce energy consumption, while all ceilings were changed to materials resisting extreme humidity and cold as part of improvements to the climate-control system.

Horn’s expeditions aboard Pangaea include a four-year circumnavigation from 2008-12, a journey covering over 100,000nm and 63 countries. Hosting close to 100 ‘Young Explorers’ aged between 15-20, the expedition included scientific research, exploration of some of the world’s most remote and inaccessible locations, and environmental education and awareness campaigns.

The upgraded console

He also used Pangaea for his Pole2Pole circumnavigation of the globe via the South and North Poles, starting in May 2016 and finishing in December 2019.

In June 2022, Horn was announced as the ambassador of Sunreef’s new Explorer line of powercats (click for article). Reflecting “his lifelong commitment to adventure, exploration, and environmental conservation”, he was appointed to “inspire Sunreef customers and followers to pursue their exploration ambitions”.

Sunreef renovated he entire interior

Also a motivational speaker, the 56-year-old continues to travel the world, sharing his experiences and advocating for environmental conservation and sustainable living practices.

www.sunreef-yachts.com

Behzad Saberi on the Gulf superyacht market

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

Behzad Saberi on the Gulf superyacht market

March 15, 2023
11:33 pm

Dubai-based Saberi is founder and CEO of MBC Yachts and a Senior Sales Advisor for Camper & Nicholsons Middle East, with over 15 years of experience across management, charter and new builds.

In your experience, what have been the highs and lows of the superyacht market in the Gulf?

The superyacht market has witnessed its fair share of ups and downs over the years and today we’re witnessing the golden years of yachting in the region. The mid-2000s saw a huge peak in demand as the Gulf, particularly the UAE, experienced significant economic growth due to the oil boom and diversification efforts, leading to a rise in the number of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals in the region.

The Gulf became a popular hub for yacht tourism, with Dubai and other cities in the region investing heavily in marina infrastructure and services to attract wealthy visitors and globetrotters. This boosted local demand for superyachts. In 2008, more than 200 vessels attended the Dubai International Boat Show, while the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was held for the first time in 2009 and this really boosted the yachting industry.

However, around that time, the global financial crisis led to a decline in the number of new yachts being commissioned and a decrease in the number of yacht charters. In fact, some buyers were forced to sell their yachts due to financial troubles. Eventually new yachts again came to the market and more superyachts cruising around the world visited the UAE.

Three years into the Covid era, what is the Gulf superyacht market like now and how do you believe it will develop in the coming years?

Covid-19 has had a significant impact, with many owners choosing to postpone their yacht purchases or sales. With many countries imposing travel restrictions, the number of tourists visiting the Gulf decreased significantly. This had a direct impact on the yachting industry, as many people who rent or charter yachts are tourists.

Many yachting events, such as regattas and boat shows, were cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic. These events often attract a lot of visitors and generate significant revenue for the industry. The pandemic also had an impact on the sales of new and used yachts, as people were less likely to make large purchases due to economic uncertainty.

However, post-pandemic recovery was swift, and the market saw a sharp upward trend. In recent months, the market has shown significant signs of recovery, with increased interest from potential UHNW buyers and successful young entrepreneurs. Research shows some buyers sought out yachts to escape the pandemic and travel restrictions.

This upward trend can be seen in financing enquiries for superyachts, new yacht builds and purchase, as well as the number of superyachts available now in the region, as many are here for the first time.

What are the most important design features and options for superyacht owners in the Gulf?

Superyachts in the Gulf are expected to offer the ultimate luxury and comfort for their owners and guests, and include spacious cabins, luxurious furnishings, and amenities such as gyms, spas and movie theatres.

Owners want their superyachts to be fast, agile and able to handle the rough waters of the region, so they need to be equipped with powerful engines and advanced navigation systems. As the safety and security of the owner, guests and crew are of utmost importance, superyachts are fitted with the latest security systems including CCTV, alarms and anti-piracy measures.

Now, with a growing concern for the environment, owners are increasingly opting for eco-friendly designs, which includes the use of sustainable materials, energy-efficient systems, and waste-management solutions. Yet given the hot, humid climate, air-conditioning is a crucial feature. Owners often opt for powerful, efficient AC systems to stay comfortable even in the hottest months.

In fact, many Gulf owners want their superyachts to be unique and reflective of their personal style, which means they often opt for custom-built yachts tailored to their specific preferences.

Overall, the design features and technical options are tailored to the specific preferences of UHNW individuals in the region, with a focus on luxury, comfort and performance in a challenging environment.

Which countries are your core markets and which other countries do you think will grow significantly as superyacht markets in the coming years?

The UAE is currently the region’s most established market for superyachts, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi as key hubs. Much of this is due to UAE’s strategic location, tax-free business environment, and its world-class infrastructure including modern marinas, shipyards and world-leading service providers.

Year-round events and boat shows attract buyers and industry professionals from around the world. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman are other Gulf countries expected to grow significantly as yacht markets in the coming years.

These countries have seen a rise in the number of millionaires and billionaires, which has led to an increase in demand for luxury yachts. Additionally, the governments of these countries have invested heavily in developing marinas and yacht infrastructure to attract HNW individuals and yachting companies.

Outside of the Gulf, emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa include Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco. These countries have seen some growth in the yachting industry, driven by their proximity to the Mediterranean and growing interest in luxury tourism. However, these markets are still relatively small compared to the established Gulf countries.

OceanR clears blue seas with green clothing

Leaders / yachtstyle2020

OceanR clears blue seas with green clothing

March 9, 2023
2:38 pm

Designing and manufacturing high-tech apparel and products made from ocean waste, OceanR has recovered over 1 million plastic bottles to create an online retail portfolio along with custom-designed collections for clients such as Richard Branson’s Necker Island and Four Seasons hotels and resorts.

OceanR’s clothing collection includes rash vests, swimwear, board shorts, polo shirts, T-shirts and sweatshirts

OceanR is not just doing good; it’s now also doing well. Headquartered in Ireland and supported by a production facility in Latvia, the company has always focused on doing good by using discarded plastic bottles and other ocean waste to produce eco-friendly clothing and products.

Describing itself as “the clothing company removing 1kg of ocean waste with every purchase”, OceanR says one rash vest uses 12 plastic bottles and calculates that it has recovered over 1 million plastic bottles by using its Oceanbalance fabrics.

Its growing clothing collection ranges from tech polo shirts, T-shirts and sweatshirts to board shorts and other swimwear, while products include water bottles, beach towels and face masks.

Superyacht clients include the Sanlorenzo 62Steel Lemon Tree

The company is also doing well, financially, with partners including Richard Branson’s Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, Four Seasons hotels and resorts worldwide, and many superyachts including the first Sanlorenzo 62Steel Lemon Tree (formerly Cloud 9), the 77m Dutch-built Legend and the 60m Abeking & Rasmussen Scott Free.

However, OceanR didn’t always have five-star clients, admits Tom Cotter, who was only 26 when he founded the company in 2016 in his native Cork, Ireland’s second-biggest city, spending several years trying to expand the business beyond supplying clothing for local sailing clubs.

Tom Cotter (far left) helps Enaleia’s work in funding fishermen to collect ocean plastic to be recycled

Casting his net wide and far, the ambitious Irishman was trying to hook a big fish – and eventually had one on the line after approaching Virgin Limited Edition, Branson’s collection of luxury hotels and resorts.

“I received a phone call at 7 o’clock and it was the operations manager for Virgin Limited Edition. He said, ‘Hi Tom, are you in London tomorrow? I’ll be there for the day.’ Without hesitating, I said, ‘Yes, I am’,” recalls the fast-talking Cotter, whose entrepreneurial spirit rose to the occasion.

“I was straight onto Ryanair. I didn’t even have the money to pay for the flight, so I borrowed GBP100 from my parents. Anyway, I went straight to London and met him for just 20 minutes. He just wanted to meet me to make sure I was real. Three days later, he called me and said we had the staff uniform contract.

Necker Island, among the Virgin Limited Edition collection

“I’ve never met Richard Branson, but I believe he was keen to give a new start-up a chance. We went from supplying sailing clubs and local organisations to working with one of the biggest names in the hospitality industry. However, when I now look at the [PDF] presentation we sent Virgin, I’m a bit embarrassed!”

IRELAND TO GREECE TO AUSTRALIA

Hailing from Cork, Cotter says he inherited his work ethic from his father, who worked in a pharmaceutical company, while his mother encouraged his blue-sky thinking, telling him “you can be anything you want”. His passion for sustainability stems from his lifelong love of watersports and the sea, underlined by family holidays in Greece.

OceanR produces garments suitable for watersports

After working for almost a year at Tubes Boardsports in Cork, Cotter spent 19 months in Greece working for Ionion Explorer, but it was his time in Australia in his early 20s that moulded his career and business savvy.

In Melbourne, Cotter managed the Training and Development department at The Royal Yacht Club of Victoria for half a year before spending almost three years as Business Development Manager at Yachting Victoria, where he managed a team of 30 people during the busiest periods.

Rash vests and swimwear use 80-90 per cent recycled polyester and 10-20 per cent elastane

His role included marketing and managing budgets with a strong turnover, yet also revealed his leadership qualities.

“I needed to be flexible and think on my feet. If it was 30 knots out on the water, I needed to quickly come up with onshore classes for lots of expectant kids. All these experiences taught me how to be calm when everyone else is freaking out. I’m always positive.”

RASH VESTS TO MASKS

Soon after returning to Cork, Cotter set up his company, which was originally called RashR and focused on producing rash vests made from eco-friendly materials.

“You can coin whatever you want to do, so why not coin a business that will make you money and genuinely have a positive impact on the environment. And I’m genuinely interested in sustainability because I’ve spent so much time on and in the water.”

He initially targeted local sailing clubs and other watersports communities, but admits that it presented a limited pool in which to grow the business.

Looking beyond Ireland, he focused on offering international clients custom-designed, eco-friendly uniforms and apparel, with the Virgin contract finally secured in late 2019. Cotter says the payment in Q4 led him to think big, predicting GBP1 million turnover the following year. Then Covid arrived.

OceanR garments include swimwear

As it spread quickly around the world in early 2020, borders closed, international travel halted and almost all holiday resorts paused or shut. For Cotter, it was time to pivot.

As the company had been producing rash vests for PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), whose dive-certification courses have created huge recognition around the world, Cotter came up with the idea of producing face masks. Initially agreeing to make 500 PADI-branded masks from recycled ocean plastic, the company eventually produced 150,000.

OceanR produced rash vests for PADI

“The world had shut down and we had to wear masks, so we collaborated with PADI, which has millions of people on social media. The first 500 were sold out in 15 seconds. At first, they were only allowed to order up to 1,000 more, but within a few days, they upped their order to 15,000.”

Featuring the tagline ‘Seek Adventure, Save The Ocean’, the popularity of the PADI masks made global headlines on the likes of CNN and Forbes, with OceanR producing 15,000 units every couple of weeks for about six months.

Cotter doesn’t look back on the period with fond memories, citing the stress of sourcing supplies and materials amid ever-changing restrictions, but says it helped keep the company and factory afloat.

PADI masks with the tagline ‘Seek Adventure, Save The Ocean’

“It was a strange time. I’d never want to go back to it, dealing with the stress and the supply chain, like the piping on the inside of the mask running out,” Cotter says.

“It was a weird time to make money, charging €5-6 for a reusable face mask, but we didn’t make a profit. We covered costs and kept the lights on. It kept our five Cork staff employed and the factory in Latvia open. If we didn’t make that move, we’d have been finished.”

Meanwhile, Cotter powered on, driving his sales team to keep engaging with existing contacts and approaching new ones, looking to work with resorts as soon as travel restrictions eased and tourism could restart.

Four Seasons is one of OceanR’s key clients

“By the end of 2020, we had contacted 150 luxury resorts, saying ‘One day we will work with you; we’ve done your designs, we’re ready to go.”

RASHR TO OCEANR

In the meantime, Cotter secured some significant investment and engaged a leading branding firm to change the company’s image and bin the itchy-sounding ‘RashR’. The company was relaunched as OceanR with an accompanying logo featuring “a superyacht type of font” plus new branding materials, photos and video assets.

“Don’t let anyone tell you branding doesn’t matter. It does. After we rebranded, we suddenly had resorts calling and asking us to do their clothing and merchandise.”

In mid-2021, Necker Island reopened with an increased commitment to sustainability, including a solar wind farm and three giant new wind turbines that enable the resort to run on up to 100 per cent renewable energy. It was and is a flagship client for OceanR, and the public announcement of their partnership led to further interest from hospitality companies looking for sustainable products.

OceanR produces boutique products for clients

Yet, having stopped producing clothing for well over a year following Covid, Cotter says 2021 was an up and down year financially, with some areas opening to tourism while others made only tentative steps to welcoming visitors. “We went into 2021 thinking Covid was gone, but it hadn’t, and it was a mixed year for business.”

Cotter describes 2022 as “the first full year of doing well”, with regular orders from 200 accounts, the majority of which are resorts. The collaboration with Four Seasons includes product for resorts in Orlando (Walt Disney World), Mexico and Anguilla in the Americas, Mauritius in Africa and the Maldives in Asia.

Clients include Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa

Having acquired the Latvian factory in Riga, creator of the Oceanbalance brand of 18 recycled fabrics, OceanR’s staff count scaled up to about 80 people including 15 design, sales and marketing staff in Cork.

Along with Lemon Tree, Legend and Scott Free, the portfolio of superyachts with OceanR-clothed crew has included the 47m Heesen My Secret, 63.5m Benetti Moca, 73m Feadship Lunasea, 88m Feadship Fountainhead, 110m Oceanco Kaos (former Jubilee) and the 117m Oceanco Infinity launched last year.

PILLARS OF SUSTAINABILITY

Furthermore, OceanR has conceived six sustainability pillars – one focused on people, three on products and two for the planet. ‘Our Community’ focuses on people, such as company staff and suppliers.

In Latvia, plastic bottles are cleaned, sorted then shredded into pellets

Product pillars start with ‘Eco Fabrics’, which include recycled polyester (mostly from plastic bottles), GOTS-certified organic cotton, plus innovative fabrics and trims such as pineapple leaf fibres, specifically Piñatex®, as a sustainable alternative to leather.

For ‘Traceability’, OceanR is working with BCome to record the life cycle of each product, potentially in a QR code. ‘Take It Back’ encourages clients to return product for repair or recycling.

Pellets are melted to make fibre that’s processed into fabric

To help the environment, ‘Beyond Carbon Neutral’ includes a partnership with Plant-for-the-Planet to help offset the company’s carbon footprint, while ‘A Kilo For The Planet’ represents support of Enaleia’s work in funding fishing boats for fishermen in Greece to collect ocean plastic to be recycled.

Since 2018, Enaleia has removed 500,000kg of marine plastic, while it currently increases the income of over 700 fishermen, who between them collect about 4,000kg a week.

The company produces a retail collection

Already a leading light in “doing good”, OceanR is now looking to build on “doing well”, sourcing further investment as it seeks to take the business to the next level.

“The goal isn’t just to maintain. We’re looking to fundraise again, which should give us a platform to get to quite a sizeable level, but still maintain the flexibility we’ve always had,” Cotter says. “And I’m lucky to have amazing staff, some of whom could be earning a lot more money at multinationals, but stay because they like what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”
www.oceanr.co

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