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

Superyacht brokers, designers and other industry professionals have reported another successful year of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS), which wrapped up on Sunday 3 November after a five-day run.

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.

The show’s 65th edition saw a number of debuting yachts, including 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."

Turkish-based shipyard Sirena Yachts was also in attendance to provide more details on its flagship composite model, the Sirena 118, after it was unveiled at this year's Monaco Yacht Show. Speaking to the show's importance, 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."

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".

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."

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.

Landry continued: "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."

The impending US election (held two days after FLIBS had concluded) 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.

According to Luxury Yacht Group’s Connor, clients appeared to be holding their breath ahead of the election, though he expected the industry to continue as normal regardless of the outcome. “I do think we're in a pausing phase right now during the show,” he explained. “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.”

Meanwhile, Fraser's chief operating officer Mike Busacca told BOATPro he was surprised by the “positive attitude” from clients after experiencing lower activity levels in the lead up to this year’s show. "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,” said Busacca. “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."

According to Fraser CEO Anders Kurtén, the biggest difference from last year’s edition was the developing interest in the firm’s charter offerings, which comprised eight of the 10 Fraser yachts on display with current bookings reaching into 2026. "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,” said Kurtén.

Looking ahead, Busacca said he felt confident that the yachting industry would continue to attract more first time buyers, which he estimates currently make up around 20 per cent of Fraser clients. “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,” he said.