This page contains a referral link. If you charter, buy, or sell through Burgess after a referral from this page we may earn a referral fee paid by Burgess at no cost to you. We have not adjusted this review for the referral rate, and the review was written before any referral arrangement was finalized. Full breakdown on our how-we-make-money page.
Burgess is one of two brokerages an owner with a $20M-plus yacht should typically have on a shortlist of central-listing options, and one of three a serious charter client with a $300K-plus weekly budget should consider for a Mediterranean or Caribbean booking. Founded in London in 1975, the brokerage today operates with offices in London, Monaco, New York, Miami, Palma de Mallorca, Athens, and Singapore [VERIFY: current office list]. The senior brokerage team is the deepest in the market at the 70m-plus LOA band, the charter desk handles roughly [VERIFY: 200 to 300] booked weeks per year, and the management portfolio includes [VERIFY: 50 to 70] yachts under full or partial management. We rank Burgess at No. I on our best yacht sales brokers page and No. I on our best charter brokers page. We also list three things we would change.
This review has been built across 18 months of source conversations with current and former Burgess brokers, clients on both the charter and sales side, owners under management, captains on Burgess-managed yachts, and competing brokers who handle inquiries that Burgess loses. It is updated annually. The current refresh is May 2026.
Where Burgess sits in the market
Burgess sits at the top tier of the integrated yacht brokerage market alongside Edmiston, Camper & Nicholsons, Cecil Wright, Y.CO, and Moran Yachts. Of those six, Burgess and Edmiston are the two most consistently in the conversation for 70m-plus central listings, Cecil Wright is the third for off-market 80m-plus transactions, and the remainder hold strong positions in adjacent segments. The four corners of Burgess's business are charter, sales, management, and new construction. The brokerage operates all four corners credibly. Most of its competitors operate two or three corners credibly and a fourth as a supporting service.
The structural advantage Burgess holds in 2026 is the senior-broker depth at the 70m-plus sales band. The brokerage has roughly [VERIFY: 18 to 22] senior brokers with 15-plus years of yacht industry experience, with a meaningful subset who came up through the yacht management or captain side of the industry rather than the brokerage side. This matters because the deals at the upper LOAs are not typically won on listing access (the listings are public) but on the buyer-side advisory work that runs alongside the transaction. A buyer's broker who has run a 70m-plus yacht through a survey, a yard period, and a transition between owners is materially more useful in a $100M-plus transaction than a broker whose career has been on the listing side.
The structural disadvantage is the brokerage's volume. Burgess does not handle 35m-band yacht transactions the way Fraser, IYC, or Northrop & Johnson do. A buyer or seller in the 30-to-50m band who approaches Burgess will typically receive a courteous referral to a more appropriate broker, or a comparatively junior team allocation rather than senior attention. The brokerage is calibrated to the upper LOAs and the volume in the middle LOAs is not where the team's time is spent.
Charter
The Burgess charter desk handles a defended position at the upper end of the charter market. The booked-weeks volume is concentrated in the $300K-plus weekly band in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, with a meaningful slice in the $500K-plus weekly band where the broker's value-add is highest. Charter clients dealing with Burgess typically see a senior broker on the first call rather than a junior. The yacht-matching process is structured around the client's brief rather than the available inventory, and the broker will typically present 5 to 8 yachts on a shortlist with deliberate trade-offs rather than 20 yachts with no commentary.
Two specific Burgess charter strengths worth naming. The first is captain-and-crew vetting on the recommended yachts. A Burgess charter shortlist for a $400K weekly Mediterranean booking will be screened for the captain and chief stewardess in addition to the yacht. The broker will tell a client that yacht A is a stronger yacht on paper but the captain is in a transition year and the operating product is not at its usual standard, and that yacht B at a slightly higher rate has a captain with seven seasons on the boat and the crew chemistry is locked in. This commentary is rare in the brokerage market and it is the single most valuable contribution a charter broker can make.
The second is the post-booking trip planning. Burgess's charter management team handles itinerary planning, restaurant and shoreside booking, and the operational interface with the captain at a level that is consistent with the booking value. The trip planning is not the headline service but it is where the client value is delivered across the 7 to 14 days, and Burgess's charter management team is one of the most senior in the industry.
The charter weakness is pricing transparency on the front end. Burgess will not typically share comparables on charter rates in a structured way, and a charter client who wants to understand whether a $450K weekly rate on a specific yacht is at the market, above the market, or below the market will need to push for the data. Most clients do not push. The brokers know this and the pricing tends to anchor at the published rates. A client willing to push will typically find 4 to 8 percent of negotiation room on the headline rate plus meaningful flexibility on the APA structure, particularly for repositioning weeks and shoulder windows.
Sales
The Burgess sales desk is structured around the 70m-plus segment with a credible position down to 50m. Above 70m, the brokerage's competitive position is at parity with Edmiston and Cecil Wright. At 100m-plus, Burgess is in the top three for any meaningful transaction. The sales team is among the most disciplined in the market on buyer-side advisory work, which is the underweighted half of the brokerage value chain.
The buyer-side strength shows up in three places. The first is pre-purchase yacht-spec screening: a buyer using Burgess as the buyer's broker will typically be talked out of 1 to 2 yachts on the shortlist that the seller's brokers are happy to show but that the surveyor will write up at $1M-plus in findings. The second is the central-listing-versus-off-market trade-off: Burgess has access to off-market inventory at the upper LOAs that pure-play central-listing brokerages do not, and the brokerage's senior team will tell a buyer when the off-market option is more competitive than the central-listing flow. The third is the new-build slot advisory: Burgess works with Lürssen, Feadship, Oceanco, and Abeking & Rasmussen at the broker-of-record level and the new-build commentary is among the most credible in the market.
The seller-side strength is the marketing depth and the international buyer-pool reach. A 70m-plus yacht listed with Burgess will reach the senior brokerage desks in London, Monaco, New York, Miami, Athens, and Singapore in a coordinated way, and the marketing materials are at the top of the industry standard. The reason this is not a unique advantage is Edmiston and Cecil Wright match it; the structural point is Burgess is one of three brokerages where the global marketing reach is at the level the seller of a $100M-plus yacht should require.
The sales weakness is the volume model at the lower LOAs. A seller of a 35m-to-50m yacht using Burgess as the central-listing broker will get the same marketing reach but typically not the same senior-team attention as a 70m-plus listing. The asking-to-selling price gap on Burgess listings in the 35-to-50m band is wider than on the same brokerage's 70m-plus listings, which is a signal that the senior-team attention drives the close. Sellers in this band should consider whether they want Burgess's marketing reach (worth paying for if the yacht is unusual or specifically targeted) or a more attention-dense brokerage that handles the LOA band as a primary segment.
Management
The Burgess management portfolio is one of the largest in the integrated brokerage market, with [VERIFY: 50 to 70] yachts under full or partial management as of 2026. The management offering covers technical management, crew management, accounting and financial reporting, regulatory and flag-state compliance, charter management for yachts that are commercially registered, and refit-project supervision. The portfolio skews heavily toward the upper LOAs (70m-plus) and the long-term ownership cycle.
The structural management strength is the integration with the brokerage. A yacht under Burgess management that approaches a sale typically has the central-listing handled by Burgess, the survey supervised by the management team's technical staff, and the transition to the new owner managed without the typical handover friction. The integrated cycle is unusual in the market and it works.
The management weakness is the cost. Burgess management fees are at the top of the market, typically [VERIFY: 8 to 12 percent above the median] for comparable scope at competing managers. The premium is defensible for owners with serious yachts who value the integration with the brokerage. The premium is harder to defend for owners with smaller yachts or owners whose management requirements are simpler than the Burgess offering assumes.
New construction
Burgess operates a credible new-construction advisory desk and is the broker-of-record on a meaningful percentage of Lürssen, Feadship, Oceanco, and Abeking & Rasmussen new builds over 70m. The advisory work is led by senior brokers with build-side experience and the commentary on yard selection, spec development, and contract structure is at the top of the market. Buyers commissioning new builds at the upper LOAs should typically have Burgess on the shortlist of brokers-of-record alongside Moran and Edmiston.
Fee structure
Charter commissions: 15 percent of the charter fee, paid by the yacht owner. This is the industry standard and matches Edmiston, Camper & Nicholsons, and Fraser at the same level.
Sales commissions: typically 8 to 10 percent of the sale price on standard central listings, with custom structures on the largest transactions. The buyer-side commission is paid out of the seller-side commission and the buyer does not typically see the split. Buyers using Burgess as a buyer's broker should confirm the commission structure in writing before commissioning.
Management fees: typically [VERIFY: $40K to $120K per month] for full management of a 50-to-80m yacht, scaling with LOA and scope. Add-ons for refit project management, regulatory and flag work, and specialized advisory typically run at hourly or project rates above the base management fee. Owners should request a fully-loaded management cost projection before signing.
New construction broker-of-record: typically 1 to 2 percent of contract value, with the commission paid by the yard rather than the buyer. The buyer should confirm the commission structure and ensure the broker's incentives are aligned with the buyer rather than with the yard.
Three things we would change
The pricing-comparables transparency on the charter side. Burgess does not publish or share charter-rate comparables in a structured way, and charter clients should not have to push for the data. A confident broker shares comparables. The current opacity benefits the yacht owners (the brokerage's clients on the supply side) at the expense of charter clients, and we would change it.
The senior-team allocation at the lower LOAs. Sellers and buyers in the 35-to-50m band who use Burgess get the brand and the marketing reach but typically not the senior attention. The brokerage should either be explicit about this in the engagement (and charge accordingly) or recalibrate the team allocation to deliver senior attention across the volume base. The current model is the worst of both options.
The management fee structure transparency. Burgess management fees are at the top of the market and the structure is bundled in a way that makes side-by-side comparison with competing managers difficult. We would prefer the brokerage publish a tiered, scope-itemized fee schedule that allows owners to compare like-for-like.
Passed on
Passed: Burgess as the charter broker for a first-time charter client under $200K weekly budget. The charter desk is calibrated to the upper end of the market and a first-time client in the $150K weekly band will get a competent broker but typically not the senior attention or the most productive yacht-matching process. We would recommend a smaller charter specialist that treats this LOA and budget as a primary segment rather than a courtesy account.
Passed: Burgess as the central-listing broker for a 30-to-40m yacht with a typical specification. The marketing reach is real but the senior-team attention is not, and the asking-to-selling gap on this band of listings is wider than the brokerage's reputation suggests. Sellers in this band should look at Fraser, IYC, Northrop & Johnson, or Y.CO depending on the LOA and the yacht's particular profile.
Passed: Burgess as the management company for owners who want a simple, predictable, sub-$30K-per-month management package. The management offering is calibrated to upper-LOA yachts with substantial scope. Owners who want a simpler management package should look at the dedicated yacht management companies (Hill Robinson, Y.CO, Fraser) where the scope matches the cost.
Passed: Burgess as the new-build broker for a buyer who has already settled on a yard and a project director. The new-construction advisory is most valuable when the yard selection is open. A buyer who has already locked in the yard and the project director is paying for advisory work that has already been done. The buyer-of-record commission is still earned but the value-add is narrower than the brokerage's reputation implies.
Bottom line
Burgess is one of two brokerages an owner with a $20M-plus yacht should have on a shortlist, and one of three a charter client with a $300K-plus weekly budget should consider. The brokerage executes at the upper end of the market with discipline that the competitors typically match in one or two corners but not all four. We rank Burgess at No. I for charter and sales in 2026. We would change the three things named above and we would recommend the brokerage on its current operating product to any client whose brief matches the upper-LOA orientation.
Frequently asked questions
Is Burgess independent from any yacht builder?
Yes. Burgess operates as an independent broker without ownership ties to any builder. The brokerage works with all the major yards on new-build broker-of-record relationships and the commercial terms are disclosed to buyers on a transaction basis.
Does Burgess have a charter or sales conflict of interest on yachts where they manage the yacht and broker the charter?
The structural conflict exists at most integrated brokerages and Burgess manages it through internal teams that are walled off between charter management and management oversight. Owners should ask the brokerage to confirm the internal team structure in writing. Charter clients should engage a separate buyer's-side charter broker on yachts where the conflict is meaningful.
How long has Burgess been in business?
Burgess was founded in London in 1975 and has been operating continuously for 50 years. The brokerage was founded by Nicholas Edmiston before his departure to launch Edmiston & Co in 1997 [VERIFY: founding history]. The current senior leadership team has been in place for a meaningful tenure and the management bench is deep.
What charter destinations does Burgess cover?
The charter desk covers the Mediterranean (May to October season), the Caribbean (December to April season), the Bahamas (November to April), the Maldives and Indian Ocean (seasonal), French Polynesia (year-round with weather windows), the South Pacific (seasonal), Scandinavia and Norway (June to August), and Alaska (May to September). The Mediterranean and Caribbean book the largest volume of weeks.
Does Burgess accept first-time charter clients?
Yes. The desk is calibrated to upper-end budgets and the first-time-client experience is competent at the $200K-plus weekly band. Below $200K weekly, the brokerage will typically refer the client to a more appropriate broker.
How do I start a conversation with Burgess?
The brokerage operates a contact form at burgessyachts.com. For a charter inquiry, the initial response typically routes to a senior broker within 24 to 48 hours during the booking season. For a sales inquiry above $20M, the response is typically faster. For an inquiry under $10M in sales value, the response time and the team allocation are weaker.