Beyond 'super': unique yacht design with Burgess
The era of asset management
Published 09 juin 2025
Professional, reliable and adaptable yacht management lies at the heart of the Burgess success story and is central to our plan to democratise safe, efficient ownership, no matter the size of vessel.
Think yacht management and you may well see images of the very largest yachts, complete with support vessels, an armada of tenders and a crew any navy would be proud of.
It’s an image we know well. Burgess manages some of the largest yachts on the water with a 70m+ management fleet larger than any of our competitors. But with over 80 percent of the global superyacht fleet below 50m, we also believe that yacht management services must cater for all vessels and it is crucial we provide cost-effective, reliable solutions for all size sectors.
Ryan Green, Head of Yacht Management, on modern superyacht management
With the incorporation of large yachts into owners’ wider asset portfolios, it is crucial that we align with the culture and objectives of that ownership structure. There is certainly a maturing of the industry in this regard, not only are we providing the underpinning ship management principals but also a unique level of support for a very unique asset class.
Modern day yacht management should be seen as a marine asset management business that spans regulatory, technical, financial, luxury hospitality and HR with some very particular challenges. To that end, you could say we are in the marine solutions business.
Communication and transparency are the fundamental building blocks in developing a long term client relationship with the owner, their representatives, the captain and the crew. We work to ensure everyone is aligned and know the challenges around running a large vessel.
This trust is central to our ethos; we have an obligation to the Burgess brand to maintain the relationships it has built up with its clients over decades. Management is the constant in yachting so we have to deliver on a daily basis.
The best way we can do that is to add value. That means ensuring a safe, reliable and enjoyable experience for the owner, but it’s also about protecting the actual value of the vessel through pre-emptive management. This not only maintains its market desirability but also ensures that running costs are optimised.
By example, the five-year survey – a milestone event in any yacht’s lifecycle – can often be limited to a single or partial season refit, with manageable costs, if the vessel has been well managed through effective planning and technical management. A poorly maintained vessel will face far longer in refit, unanticipated works, perhaps compromising a whole season’s use and at a significantly higher cost.
Our pre-emptive, collaborative management is only possible because of the team we have – blending our depth of bench with the crew’s detailed knowledge. Crucially, our clients have access to multiple experts at any one time. We provide a knowledge base of dozens of specialised, experienced maritime professionals to ensure the right level of support and decision making.
I’ve heard it said that this level of service and personnel makes management less affordable, but it makes yacht ownership more affordable. Good management saves money, it doesn’t cost money. Plus, a large fleet ensures we can realise benefits from an economy of scale across materials and services.
We are delivering a higher level of professional yacht services and a necessary maturing of the industry, where ever more sophisticated vessels and clients require a more sophisticated level of management.
It is a place where the traditional management needs of safety and reliability meet modern asset management to support the longer term value proposition.
BEHIND THE SCENES AT BURGESS YACHT MANAGEMENT
We speak to Tash Trenear-Harvey to find out how Burgess is developing its support services to suit every yacht owner.
How does yacht management work at Burgess?
Compared to the industry norm, we have a pretty radical structure, wholly designed to support the yacht owner and their team, with a dedicated yacht manager and assistant for each yacht, specialist technical teams supporting them and fleet managers overseeing things.
Tell us about the teams on the frontline
The yacht management team have a broad range of experience from both the on and offshore sector. Yacht managers have traditionally held senior roles on board a yacht, from the commercial yachting sector or the armed forces, bringing a wide range of skills to the table.
What’s important is that the manager remains with the same yacht, to build the relationship and knowledge of how the owner and captain want things done.
Behind the scenes, the teams are then focused on the services, from technical management, accountancy, marine compliance and, of course, the crew. Again, personnel from each team stay with the same client, so there is a familiar and dedicated team providing a consistent service.
Is client culture changing?
The biggest change we have seen is the move to a yacht being part of a wider need for asset management. A client has assets around the world and a team to manage them, we connect to that team, become part of it. Again, they can choose the services they need, it’s modular, and provide communications in a way they can use and understand.
Whether it is a family office, corporate service provider or a client representative, we support that person or team. We even have people come to us with a shopping list of works or terms they don’t understand and we empower them.
These people have a lot of responsibility, they are often lawyers or financial experts, but they aren’t yacht experts, so we give them that security and knowledge.
Are you seeing more owners new to yachting?
What we are seeing is an increase in people who have chartered before, moving into ownership. This may be a result of the Covid period, when charter plans were at the mercy of changing travel restrictions but ownership offered more certainty.
These clients come to us because they want to be looked after, but there is a wider point here on the protection a client enjoys when they use Burgess. As the yacht manager we are named as the crew employer and the ship owner so we carry the liability of the vessel and its crew, and that risk mitigation is a big part of what clients want.
What’s the key to a long client relationship?
The management team are incredibly experienced and have worked at Burgess for many years. Our clients stay with us for many years too, some for over 30+ years. That is not a coincidence. Management is about relationships, trust and, of course, service.
Families stay with us, the children of original owners, stay with us. And we can adapt to suit the changing generations of yacht owners. When there is a change in circumstance, if a yacht moves from private to charter or is to be sold, we will handle everything.
Often, an owner has multiple yachts and they are not always going to be large vessels. Regardless of the size, they know they can place their fleet with us and we will look after it. I actually see greater personal attachment to smaller vessels and I think it speaks more about our ethos that owners bring smaller vessels in and they know we will treat them to the same high standards.
That brings us to the 30-40m market – are these owners using your services?
Yacht management is often associated with larger vessels and big crews, but it should almost be the opposite.
Burgess is rightly connected to large yacht management. We are the market leaders, with more yachts over 70m than any of our competitors. But we are a whole market brokerage house and management company.
We have seen a massive increase to the 30-40m fleet and these vessels require professional, reliable support. A smaller yacht means a smaller crew, with less room for specialisation and less space to work in. It all points to the need for a level of support but perhaps not in the traditional sense of management.
That’s a big reason why we have developed Yacht Support Service, a separate management offer that can be broken down into specific areas and needs, delivering targeted support to suit the yacht’s budget and operational profile. We want this to be as accessible as possible because we believe captains and crew need support.
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