Owner’s own team
Communication and control
One of the key problems in super yacht management is the communication between the various parties involved. The Owner of a yacht, or his Family Office, will generally have to work with a yacht manager, a charter broker, a technical director, a lawyer, a tax consultant, local representatives, a crew recruitment company, an insurance supplier, a supplier of corporate services and the captain and crew to keep all parties motivated and performance high.
Unfortunately, the division of labour between these entities and individuals is often poorly defined, and as a result the work is either inefficient, duplicated, or inefficient between them, which means that the Owners end up paying far more than necessary, without knowing or seeing the leakage.
Yacht specific expertise
Yacht management is completely different from the management of most Family Office assets – including Aviation, which is often wrongly used as a comparable. Yachts operate in situations that would not normally occur for more common assets.
Monetarily speaking, if one looks at Yacht Ownership in cash flow terms only; its operational cost can often far surpass those of a mid-sized business entity and yet Owners are prepared to relinquish almost total control to an external third part operator!
As yachts are generally only a small part of a family's range of activities, Family Offices usually use the experience of consultants in the yachting world to understand the complexities of the market.
Alignment of interest
The trend in bringing these expertise either in-house or appointing an external advisor such as Superyacht Advisory Ltd. reflects the changes in attitude and behaviour observed in the market. Brokers, yacht managers, shipyards and other interested parties appear to be under increasing pressure for transparency and clear definition of responsibilities and service objectives. This is an extremely positive step for all sectors, mostly all for the Owner, who receives a higher level of service, knowing that each phase of the process is carefully controlled. In the next few years, this will result in a more transparent superyacht service market in the US, Europe and the Middle East.
In the face of this above change, and to ensure the Owners asset, is cared for and maintained, acting constructively, Superyacht Advisory Ltd will continue to maintain its place as a protective intermediary between service providers and the yacht Owner.
Whilst the position of Yacht Management remains critical for the provision of services such as ISPS and ISM systems under regulatory requirements, the market is diversifying and Owners are becoming more informed about what they really need and what is in fact surplus to requirement and just an unnecessary additional cost.
Working together in the Owner’s interest
Superyacht Advisory Ltd, is well placed with the track record, an open architecture of networked suppliers and contacts to ensure the right match and correct cost are benchmarked and delivered for Owners.
Changing the Yacht Management model and landscape
PROPOSITION
Family Offices are shifting away from the traditional model of appointing large Yacht Management and Brokerage houses towards appointing a COO to oversee yacht management on behalf of the Family Office as the benefits of a more in-house/internally based approach becomes available.
Superyacht Advisory Ltd acts an extension of the Family Office and provides the services of the COO for managing the yacht and any appropriate third-party contracts. This model offers discretion, protection, independence and impartiality and works for Principals, without the inevitable conflicts of interest found within large brokerage houses.
For a long time the criticism of having an internal appointed Operations Officer (especially those working with yachts as one of the minor assets within the asset base of an owner's large portfolio) is that of not understanding the complexity of the market and most still don’t.
Appointing an Advisor that has sat on the Principal side for a number of years whilst also understanding the strategic relationships on the Supplier/Management/Broker side can be a huge advantage.
An Independent, Principal appointed Advisor can look at the entire market and assess the most suitable supplier for the Owner and focus on the best match in terms of experiences and references.
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