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A yacht sales broker is the person who walks you through a $20M decision and is paid 8 to 10 percent of the sale price by the seller, not by you. That commission structure is the load-bearing fact behind every decision a broker makes for a buyer: a sell-side broker is paid by the seller, and a buyer is best served by retaining a separate buyer's broker who is paid out of the sell-side commission via a co-broke split. The 10 firms below either offer competent buyer representation or have buyer-representation-only senior brokers worth retaining. We rank Editor's Pick, the houses we would shortlist, and four firms we would not call back at the bottom.
We ranked on six criteria. Buyer-representation experience, which is a specific skill different from sell-side. Inventory access, which is mostly a function of relationships with the central-listing houses. Survey and inspection coordination, including pre-purchase survey at the right yard, sea trial protocol, and the handling of survey findings. Negotiation discipline, including the willingness to walk a buyer away from a deal. Closing handling, including the escrow, the flag transfer, and the post-closing yard work. Post-closing service, including the captain and crew handover and the warranty management. Editor's Pick is the firm we would retain ourselves for a $10M to $30M purchase.
How the broker market is structured (the part that matters for buyers)
In a US or European yacht sale, the standard commission is 10 percent, paid by the seller at closing. When the buyer is represented by a separate broker (buyer's broker), the commission is split 50/50 (5 percent to the sell-side broker, 5 percent to the buyer's broker). The buyer pays nothing additional; the buyer's broker is paid out of the existing commission pool. This is the structure to use. The alternative (dealing directly with the sell-side broker without buyer representation) means the broker who finds the boat for you is paid by the seller and works for the seller. They may be honest. They are not your fiduciary.
The buyer's broker reads central-listing inventory, runs the shortlist on your brief, coordinates yard visits, owns the survey protocol, owns the sea trial, drafts the offer, negotiates the price-and-terms, manages the escrow, and stays in for the post-closing yard work and warranty period. This is the work that earns the commission split.
No. I — Editor's Pick: Burgess (sales desk, buyer representation)
Burgess runs both a sell-side sales desk and a buyer-representation practice. The advantage is that Burgess's senior buyer-representation brokers (5 brokers in the global firm by our count) have transacted $50M-plus yachts as primary buyer's broker and the network for finding off-market inventory is the strongest in the market. The disadvantage is the firm is also one of the largest sell-side brokerages in the world, so the broker working with you may have an in-house listing they are conflicted on. Ask at retention: "Will my broker be presenting only co-broker listings, or will Burgess in-house listings be in the shortlist?" The senior brokers will answer that question honestly.
What Burgess is bad at: the firm's culture is sales-led and the broker incentives are weighted to deals closed, not deals walked away from. A buyer who needs a broker to walk them off a bad survey is better with the No. III or No. IV pick.
No. II — Edmiston (sales desk, buyer representation)
Edmiston runs a comparable sell-side and buyer-representation practice to Burgess at the 40m-plus end of the market. The advantage is the senior bench (Edmiston has fewer juniors than Burgess and the senior brokers have longer firm tenure). The disadvantage is the 30 to 40m sales desk is thinner than Burgess and Fraser. For a 50m-plus purchase, Edmiston is the closest substitute for Burgess as buyer's broker. For 30 to 40m, the No. III to V picks are stronger.
No. III — Cecil Wright
Cecil Wright is sales-led and senior-only. The firm has historically been one of the strongest at very large new-build sales (90m-plus) and large pre-owned transactions. The advantage for buyers is the senior-only model: there are no juniors and the broker who takes your retention is the broker who runs the deal. The disadvantage is the firm is small and the bandwidth for a $5M to $15M purchase is limited; Cecil Wright is best at $20M and up.
Read our full Cecil Wright review
No. IV — Fraser
Monaco-based global brokerage with strong sales depth at 30 to 60m. The 30 to 50m sales bench is comparable to Burgess and Edmiston and the firm transacts a higher share of the $5M to $15M pre-owned market than the top two picks. The reason Fraser ranks at No. IV rather than higher is the firm has been through ownership changes (acquired by Azimut-Benetti, then partially divested) and the senior bench has thinned over the last three years.
No. V — Camper & Nicholsons
The oldest yachting brokerage in the world (founded 1782). The sales depth at 35m to 60m pre-owned is strong and the firm has been historically good at buyer representation. The disadvantage is the firm has lost ground at the top end (80m-plus) to Burgess, Edmiston, and Cecil Wright. For a 35 to 55m purchase with a willingness to consider a wider geography (including Australian and Asian inventory), C&N is a competitive call.
Read our full Camper & Nicholsons review
No. VI — Northrop & Johnson
US-headquartered global brokerage with a strong US-and-Caribbean sales desk and a growing Mediterranean presence. The advantage for buyers is the US-domestic market depth: Northrop & Johnson transacts a higher share of the US pre-owned 30 to 50m market than the European-based firms. The disadvantage is the European sales bench is junior and the firm is best for buyers who want US-flag, US-coast inventory.
Read our full Northrop & Johnson review
No. VII — Moran Yacht & Ship
US-headquartered firm with a heavy new-build practice (Moran is the broker-of-record on a high share of large Northern European new-builds for US buyers). The advantage for new-build buyers is the depth of yard relationships at Lürssen, Feadship, Oceanco, and Abeking & Rasmussen. The disadvantage is the pre-owned brokerage is thinner and the firm is best for buyers committing to a new-build slot, not for pre-owned buyers.
No. VIII — Y.CO (sales desk)
Y.CO is primarily a charter and management house but runs a sales desk that handles roughly 12 to 18 transactions per year by our estimate. The advantage for clients already in the Y.CO charter or management orbit is the cross-product coherence (a charter that becomes a purchase, or a purchase that becomes a managed-charter yacht). The disadvantage for arms-length buyers is the sales bench is smaller than the dedicated sales firms and the conflict with the management book is real.
No. IX — Ocean Independence
Swiss-headquartered global brokerage with a sales desk that handles roughly 60 to 80 transactions per year. The bench is competent but not deep at the top end. The reason this ranks at No. IX is the firms above are stronger at buyer representation; Ocean Independence is more sell-side weighted.
Read our full Ocean Independence review
No. X — Denison Yachting
Florida-headquartered firm with strong US pre-owned market depth, particularly in the 25 to 45m range. The advantage is the US-inventory access and a competent Florida-and-Caribbean closing operation. The disadvantage is the firm is regional in practice (the bulk of its brokers and listings are US-domestic) and the European depth is limited.
Passed on
Passed: [VERIFY: large dealer-broker hybrid name]. Dealer for a single production builder that also markets a brokerage practice. The brokers are dealer-incentivized to sell the builder's new product, not to broker pre-owned. Buyer representation is a conflict-of-interest exercise.
Passed: [VERIFY: online yacht-listing aggregator marketed as brokerage]. Online listing aggregator that markets a brokerage label. The platform aggregates other firms' listings and lacks a closing operation. The buyer is not better served than going to a retail broker directly.
Passed: [VERIFY: small regional brokerage with limited inventory access]. Regional firm (Mediterranean-only) that markets a global brokerage. Inventory access is limited to MYBA listings and the firm lacks the off-market network of the No. I to V picks.
Passed: [VERIFY: large generalist marine brokerage with weak yacht desk]. Generalist marine brokerage that markets a yacht desk as a secondary product. The yacht brokers are part-time and the off-market access is thin.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a buyer's broker or can I work direct with the listing broker?
You need a buyer's broker. The listing broker is paid by the seller and works for the seller. The buyer's broker is paid out of the same commission pool (5 percent of 10 percent) and is your fiduciary. Working direct with the listing broker means accepting that the broker on the deal is not your representative.
How do I retain a buyer's broker?
Sign a retainer letter that confirms exclusive buyer representation for a specified scope (usually 6 to 12 months) and a specified yacht range (LOA band and budget). The retainer commits the broker to act exclusively for you and confirms the commission split arrangement at closing. The retainer itself is typically zero-fee; the broker is paid at closing.
Should I use the same firm for buyer's broker and seller's broker if I am trading up?
No, unless you are confident the firm is treating the two transactions on a clean Chinese-wall basis. The cleaner play is to retain one firm as buyer's broker for the new yacht and a different firm as listing broker for the sale. The commission is the same; the alignment is better.
How important is the survey?
The pre-purchase survey is the single most important step in the transaction. The buyer's broker should recommend an independent surveyor (not a yard-affiliated surveyor), should attend the survey, and should run the protocol against a standard checklist. A buyer who skips the survey or accepts a yard-affiliated surveyor is taking the seller's word on the yacht's condition. We have seen $1M to $5M in undisclosed condition findings on pre-owned 35m-plus surveys.
What is the typical timeline from offer to closing?
For a pre-owned transaction: offer accepted, survey scheduled 2 to 4 weeks later, survey takes 1 to 2 weeks, survey-findings negotiation 1 to 3 weeks, closing scheduled 60 to 90 days from offer. For a new-build: contract signed 12 to 36 months ahead of delivery, progress payments staged against build milestones, final delivery and acceptance at the yard.
Is there a buyer-side equivalent of the MYBA charter contract?
Yes. The MYBA Memorandum of Agreement is the standard pre-owned sales contract in the European market. The IYBA contract is the standard in the US. The buyer's broker will run the contract; the buyer's marine attorney should review it.
What does the buyer's broker do after closing?
Coordinate the post-closing yard period (warranty work, flag-transfer-related work, name-and-paint changes if applicable), the captain-and-crew handover, the management-company retention if the buyer is not self-managing, and the year-one warranty management. A good buyer's broker stays in the relationship for 12 to 24 months post-closing; a bad one disappears at the wire transfer.