How to Sell

Below is the Berthon process for the sale of your yacht:

1. 1. Signed listing agreement
      We will talk through the title, registration, RCD/RCR and tax issues relating to your yacht and deal with any omissions at once.
   2. Yacht particulars
      We place emphasis on the preparation of thorough, accurate and attractive yacht particulars and will work with you to achieve this. Once signed off by you, the sales process starts…

1. 1. Details of your yacht will be circulated to those applicants on our database whose requirements she matches.
   2. Good photography and video of your yacht are also an important part of our offering. We employ a full time photographer and videographer in the UK to assist with this process, who supports all our offices with digital editing, and you will be asked to approve the finished video.
   3. Our inhouse CRM system will match all the yacht buyers that we are in touch with, with your yacht and they will receive full particulars
   4. The details (in the case of central listings) will be circulated to our international network of co-operating brokerage houses. Any changes to her status will be advised to them, so it is important that you let us know if anything changes.
   5. She will be entered on the Berthon, YATCO, Yacht World, TheYachtMarket, Blocket.se and Finn.no websites and a number of others. These sites are updated daily, so her details are always correct.
   6. She will be advertised in the international yachting press, in the mediums best suited to her market segment.
   7. Social media is an important way of marketing your yacht. Her video will be placed on our YouTube channel and she will be showcased on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Berthon is represented at Southampton, Orust, Düsseldorf, Cannes, Palma, Newport, Annapolis and Miami boat shows, as well as a number of regional shows including Mandelieu and Sandbanks. At our Lymington HQ we are open 7 day a week and always have a selection of yachts available to view.

Berthon also runs promotions through the year:

1. The Berthon Book
   A lifestyle magazine that also features the yachts that we have for sale which is available digitally and is also mailed out annually to our client base.
2. Berthon Market Report
   This is a soft copy document that is produced annually at Easter, reporting on the state of the market internationally.
3. Berthon Enews/Blog
   This is an email-circulated monthly and is a précis of events and happenings at Berthon and also of the featured listings that we have for sale.
4. Berthon Winter Collection
   A collection of yachts for sale at Berthon that is reprinted in the February issue of Yachting World, supporting the Dusseldorf Boat Show and the run up to the new season.

All of these can be downloaded from our website, which also offers general access to information about all the brokerage yachts that we have for sale. The website is updated and optimised on a monthly basis.

Berthon advertises widely in the international yachting press including Boat International, Yachting World, Motor Boat & Yachting, Seahorse and various lifestyle publications as appropriate.

About our offices:

Berthon UK – our HQ – open 7 days a week and we always have a selection of yachts for viewing on our ‘land marina’ of 3 custom built gantries, each of around 220’ and of varying heights to suit all our listings. We have an experienced selling team and support staff, and sell new Solaris Yachts & Solaris Power yachts and Pegasus Yachts. We act for Dashew Offshore and are acknowledged experts for the sale of pre-owned Discovery and Windy yachts, as well as being exclusive Brokers for the World Cruising Club. Berthon Boat Company offer a full Yard and Refit service and Berthon Marina has 250 deep-water berths.

Berthon Scandinavia – the office is located on the Island of Orust and run by Magnus Kullberg, a respected local broker with solid experience in the sale of high quality cruising yachts in Scandinavia and internationally. Berthon Scandinavia is the agent for Solaris Yachts in Sweden and has an effective service and refit capacity.

Berthon Spain – located at the heart of the Mediterranean yachting scene in Palma de Mallorca, Berthon Spain provide a comprehensive service in this fabulous sailing location. Berthon UK employee Simon Turner runs our Palma brokerage operation and has extensive local experience in the Balearics, the Mediterranean and beyond. As well as yacht brokerage and new yacht sales, experienced yachtsman and ex-yacht captain Andrew Fairbrass runs an excellent service team, offering full guardiennage packages, in-house engineering, electronics, fabrication, plumbing and rig-support.

Berthon USA – the office is in a centre of yachting on the East Coast of the USA at Newport Rhode Island. Alan Baines, Jennifer Stewart, Bill Rudkin and Peter & Jeanie Houghton, bring a wealth of knowledge of the market and years of brokerage experience. Jennifer was the Nautor Swan agent in the USA for over 12 years. In the USA we are agents for Moody, Solaris, Rustler Yachts and Sealine Yachts.

Whichever office you are co-ordinating with, we will keep you in touch with the market, values and the presentation of your yacht. The market changes all the time so you need to know this.

Once we have found a buyer, we conduct the sale on your behalf. We are members of the YBDSA (Yacht Brokers, Designers & Surveyors Association) and MYBA (Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association). Our American brokers hold Florida Yacht Broker Licenses and are members of YBAA, Sail Newport, US Sailing, New York Yacht Club, Conanicut Yacht Club and Rhode Island Marine Trades Association. Hill Dickinson in London has drafted all Berthon documentation for us. The process works this way:

1. The Sale & Purchase Agreement is drawn and then signed by yourself and the purchaser. When we receive the deposit as stakeholders we exchange.
2. The yacht is then under offer to the purchaser
3. The deposit may be returned to the purchaser if the yacht is not satisfactory to him after survey/sea trial.
4. All costs relating to the survey are for the purchaser, the yacht is sea trialed at your cost and under your insurance and control.
5. After survey the purchaser may ask to negotiate if defects are revealed. It is up to you whether you wish to do so, but if a meeting of minds is not found, the sale will be void and the deposit returned less any unpaid survey costs – if any.
6. Once the purchaser accepts the yacht following the survey and sea trial, we ask them to sign an Acceptance Notice. Once he has done this, his deposit becomes part payment for the yacht. If they fail to complete, the deposit is retained and split 50/50 between the seller and Berthon.
7. After acceptance, we will ask you to sign a Bill of Sale and produce all the original documentation details listed in the Sale and Purchase Agreement; and we will handle the transfer of clear title, running title checks, as well as settling any outstanding yard accounts or mortgages direct.

You will see that you have the option of entering into a Central Listing arrangement with Berthon. This is our preferred route. Central Listings receive priority treatment as we control all aspects of the marketing. We are delighted to work on an Open Listing arrangement but by the nature of the contract we cannot exercise the same level of control over the marketing, or guarantee the same level of services that a central listing provides.

At Berthon, our aim is to find a purchaser for your yacht promptly at market value. We work for you, using our unrivalled experience within the brokerage market.

Call Berthon on 01590 679222 to discuss the purchase or sale of your yacht.

• 12 Reasons to Use Berthon
• How to Buy
• Contact Berthon
• Download this page as a PDF