Burgess sells a record 42 yachts in 2022.

Above: Burgess’ largest non-confidential sale this year was the 88.5m (290.3ft) Oceanco INFINITY. Now CLOUD 9, she sold in an in-house deal and is now managed for charter by Burgess on behalf of an owner who has worked with the company for decades 

Senior Partner and Head of Sales Richard Lambert has confirmed that 2022 is already a record-breaking year for the Burgess Brokerage team, capped by four yacht transactions closing in just seven days in Q4. Lambert said: ‘We’ve sold 42 yachts so far with a combined last asking price of over USD 2 billion and combined length of 2.1km (1.3 miles), and there are several in the pipeline so yes, it is a record year.’ 

When asked what factors underlie this remarkable, market-busting performance, Lambert explained: ‘Post-pandemic, people really enjoy spending time with family and friends in a safe, self-contained environment. Also, with remote working, people are re-evaluating their lives and wanting to spend time elsewhere. Yachting provides a really good platform to achieve those goals.’ 

Having assessed the sources of new business particularly, Lambert said: ‘It’s a real mixture. We’ve seen people who’ve been chartering for a number of years taking that first step into ownership, but we’ve also seen first-time buyers new to yachting as well, successful people who’ve said to themselves, “If not now, when?” We’ve also had existing clients trading up to something a little larger that they can spend more time on and in greater comfort.’ 

Burgess is well known as a large yacht broker, those over 500GT or 50m (164ft), and 2022 has been a ‘very strong’ year in that department. However the average length of yachts sold by Burgess so far this year is exactly 50m (164ft), suggesting the sub-500GT sector has also seen vigorous business. ‘That’s strongly indicative of people coming into the market, taking their first step into superyachting,’ said Lambert. 

While activity has been strong for most brokers, Lambert believes ‘we’ve definitely outperformed a number of our competitors this year’ and he has clear ideas what underlies Burgess’ primus inter pares status. ‘It’s a recognition of the different experience of dealing with a quality brokerage house. We look to the long term, building relationships and trust. We want to take people right through their yachting experience – some of our brokers are working with second- and even third-generation clients. All of that is a testament to the quality of the all-round service we provide. It’s a flight to quality and I think we’ll see more of that moving forward.’ 

Lambert is particularly pleased with an uptick in referral business, because ‘it’s based on someone’s experience of dealing with us. A number of our clients will refer us to friends either coming into yachting or just not having a very positive yachting experience elsewhere. It’s people recognising a safe pair of hands, an honest, trustworthy, quality company with solid foundations and financial stability. The fully-employed team ethos is very attractive to clients too. We share data and insights because we’re all working towards the same goal for our clients.’ 

After two barnstorming years, what can we expect in 2023? ‘We’ve seen real strength in the market across the board and we’re very confident that this organic growth will continue,’ concludes Lambert. Against the background of dwindling inventory that looked set to slow the market, Lambert remains bullish: ‘Post-season there are a number of yachts starting to come on to the market, that is a fairly usual pattern. People are considering what they want to do for the following year and put their yacht on the market in the hope of getting a successful sale during that period then looking to invest in another yacht for the following season.’ 

Burgess in 2022 by numbers 

Total yachts sold: 42 
Total length: 2.1km (1.3 miles) 
Yachts over 70m (230ft) sold: 10 
Total last asking prices: over USD 2 billion
Total GT: 46,096 - for 38 yachts 
Average GT: 1,213