flibs 2023

FLIBS 2024: Charter uptick and confidence in US brokerage market in run-up to presidential election

7 November 2024 • by Holly Margerrison

Brokers, designers and professionals in the superyacht industry have reported another successful year of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS), held a week before the US presidential election on 5 November. 

The show went ahead under an unpredictable climate, both physically and politically in the aftermath of Florida's Hurricane Milton and ahead of the appointment of the next US president the following week. Political caps, flags and banners were out in full force along the Intracoastal and the election was a strong talking point amongst brokers and shipyards, as the industry made reflections and predictions on what the state of the US market would be. 

Days out from the show, 168 yachts above 24 metres were confirmed to be in attendance – marking the 65th edition of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show as one of the biggest in recent memory, in terms of both the square footage and the number of yachts of all sizes in attendance. The turnout eclipsed last year's edition (2023), which saw 141 yachts over 24 metres lining the docks. 

The big news of the show came from Sunseeker International, who put rumours about it being sold by its Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda to rest. During a press conference, the British shipyard announced it had been acquired by Lionheart Capital, a Miami-based investment company, and Italian-owned Orienta Capital Partners, as an advisory company to FARO Alternative Investments.

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Read More/Sunseeker sold to Orienta Capital Partners and Lionheart Capital
The Canados Oceanic 143

In terms of new yachts at the show, there was the Canados Oceanic 143, which had her debut in Cannes last year but made her first appearance at FLIBS. The Moonen 110 Mustique – which was built on spec and not yet sold – also entered US waters and was brought by her global sales representative IYC, marking her first time in a boat show. Also marking its first time at FLIBS was the second hull in Ocean Alexander's 35 Puro series and the first unit in the 28L series.

Sally Doleski, vice president of marketing at Ocean Alexander, commented on the yard's success at the show: "The show has been very busy for us. These past five days we've had a steady group of clients come through. A lot of the MarineMax brokers are now meeting clients for the third, some even for the fourth, time to review possible contract considerations on some of the products. So we're feeling very confident about our presence here at the show and the status of the market in general."

The Sirena 118

Among the shipyards presenting their models was Turkish-based shipyard Sirena Yachts, which revealed more details on its flagship composite model, the Sirena 118, following its unveiling at this year's Monaco Yacht Show. A spokesperson for the yard said: "I believe for all the brands, this is one of the biggest markets you have. A strong presence in the US is crucial for the survival of any company I think – unless of course, you're building five boats per year, which is a different thing. In our case, while we're building something around 50 boats on a yearly basis, we need to have a large market to sell. America in general is the strongest market for us, then we have the European market and the Turkish market, which are pretty much together."

Nick Mulder of Mulder Shipyard echoed similar sentiments, following the news it had branched into the US under a new strategic partnership with brokerage firm Luxury Yacht Group, which it had been looking to do over the last couple of years but felt that now was the right moment. The Dutch builder had previously focused on its local market, but Mulder suggested the yard is now "in a position to expand and look wider than just Europe".

Read More/Mulder Shipyard enters US Market via partnership with Luxury Yacht Group

The yard feels that with Rupert Connor of Luxury Yacht Group now promoting its USA label, it has a good point of contact and can provide the service it wants. When asked whether there is a demand for Dutch-built yachts in the US, Connor said: "Quality always sells. The price differential for the quality differential that I'm seeing in this product is an easy decision to make."

Regarding the US election, Connor was not too worried about the outcome. He said: "The result won't change anything. One side will think it's good and one side will think it's bad. Will it move the needle massively? No. I do think we're in a pausing phase right now during the show. I'm not expecting anyone to walk along with a chequebook tomorrow, but I would expect, in two weeks time, after seeing the boat, someone may make an offer. There's a lot of money in the market. The market has just been a little slow over the last year, but the money's here."

The Viking 82

In terms of American builders, Viking brought its Viking 82 model to FLIBS for the first time. The model debuted in April on the shipyard's 60th anniversary, hot on the heels of the Viking 80. The yard said it has now sold over 20 units. Viking's director of communications Christopher Landry explained how the US market is looking good, coming "off the back of a record year of sales" last year.

He continued: "That may be tempered a little bit this year, we don't know. You never know what happens with the election. I would say the turnout here was strong, particularly on opening day. Sunday, today, it seems a little light but overall very good. We've had an incredibly high number of requests for video walkthroughs, media people [and] requests for interviews."

Aside from the usual press conferences, yacht appointments and meet-and-greets at the stands was the marketing of King Benji, whose owner flew a banner over the beach to welcome guests on board in an open-house style tour. Thanks to her disruptive marketing plan and boosted exposure, the yacht – which arrived in US waters for the first time since her delivery earlier this year – was a talking point around the show.

King Benji

Bringing 10 yachts to the show, Fraser told BOAT about the "positive attitude" it was witnessing from clients at the show following a slower period in the uncertainty of the US political landscape. Fraser's chief operating officer Mike Busacca said: "The second day we started getting contracts and offers, and many offers on sales of boats in the show. [So there are] probably 20 per cent more clients than last year. Just in the past three days, we've seen an uptick in sales. There was hesitation for three months, and now in the last four days there's been a lot of activity that I never anticipated to be at the show, considering it's three days before the election."

Fraser CEO, Anders Kurtén

Fraser suggested its charter presence was particularly important at the show with around eight charter yachts in its display, with clients booking charters up to the end of 2025 and into 2026. Busacca said: "We've had about five clients that have been chartering for five years straight and decided to purchase yachts this year on their own because they loved it so much. They went from chartering for five years and now they've become boat owners themselves. So we've turned those charter clients into sales clients."

Chief executive officer of Fraser, Anders Kurtén, spoke about how the show compared to previous years. In terms of the election, he suggested it would have to be reevaluated in a couple of weeks, although he said that "the US market is still strong as ever". He added: "If you're looking for a trendline that is slightly different, there are more charter boats here. We really find that our charter retail brokers have a meaningful inventory to show. That's a positive, key takeaway. As for the sales side, as always, give me six to eight weeks and I can tell you. We've had a lot of good visits and good traffic on all the boats, so it looks promising."

Double Haven

Bucasa said the clients they see comprise around 20 per cent of first-time buyers and 80 per cent existing clients. When asked if he was seeing an influx of new owners or the next generation entering the scene, he said: "I'm not sure about the next generation, I think there's just new money out there. There's old money out there. This is a market some people didn't even know existed in the past, and they find it a very interesting way to spend their money and enjoy their life."

For the vintage lovers, Feadship brought its newly refitted 51-metre Double Havenoriginally delivered in 1993 – which acted as a replacement for last year's Ice Bear last year and was showcased as part of Feadship's new Resale division. In terms of the largest yachts on display, Abeking & Rasmussen's 78.4-metre Amaryllis was joined by BOAT International's US November cover boat, the 70.4-metre Neue Jadewerft yacht Amadeus.