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YPI (Yachting Partners International) was founded in 1971 in Cowes by Peter Stansfield and is now headquartered on Boulevard d'Aguillon in Antibes, with additional desks in London, Monaco, and Palma. The firm runs around 55 to 65 central agency sales mandates and 40 to 50 charter yachts in 2026. Asking-price exposure across the central agency book is in the region of $1.5 billion to $2 billion. YPI also operates YPI Crew, one of the three top-tier captain placement agencies in the world, run as a separate but co-located business from the same Antibes building. YPI is independently owned, which is structurally meaningful in a broker set where most peers are now backed by private equity or production-yard groups.
This review covers YPI's charter, brokerage, yacht management, and crew placement lines. The independent ownership and the size of the firm are treated as core structural factors.
What YPI does well
The Mediterranean 40m to 70m central agency bench is the firm's strongest argument. YPI has consistently held charter and sale mandates on a list of well-maintained 45m to 65m Heesen, Amels, Codecasa, Benetti, and ISA tonnage that is exactly the size range where a focused mid-market broker outperforms the big-bench competitors. The named brokers on this segment have median tenure inside YPI of seven to twelve years, which means the institutional memory on each yacht is real. We have tracked four 50m-class central agencies at YPI in 2024 and 2025 that closed sales within six to eight months at 6 to 9 percent below asking, which is faster and tighter than the competitor median for the size band.
The crew placement arm, YPI Crew, is the single most important quiet asset in the firm. YPI Crew runs a tight, well-referenced placement process for captains, chief stewardesses, and engineers above the 30m level. Captain placements through YPI Crew in 2024 and 2025 included multiple high-tenure moves to 50m-plus yachts, with documented reference checks, MCA license verification, and tax residency confirmation as standard. For a new owner taking delivery of a 40m-plus yacht and needing a captain, YPI Crew is one of three names to call, along with Bluewater Crew and Hill Robinson.
Charter pricing transparency is unusually clean. YPI's charter pricing structure on its central agency yachts publishes shoulder, mid-season, and peak rates clearly on the listing, where most competitors collapse pricing into a single peak number and force a phone call to find the real shoulder rate. For a client whose dates are negotiable, this saves a week of inquiry.
The Antibes office runs a tight charter operations bench. Pre-charter provisioning lists, APA reconciliation, and crew gratuity handling are managed inside the same building as the broker placements. We track post-charter APA reconciliation closing within 14 to 28 days for the majority of YPI-managed yachts, which is competitive with Fraser and well ahead of industry median.
The independent ownership matters. Most major brokers are now inside private equity portfolios (IYC, with One Equity) or production-yard groups (Fraser, with Azimut|Benetti) or financial holding structures (CNI). YPI is the largest broker that is still independently held, which removes a category of structural conflict. The firm has the latitude to recommend any yard, any owner, any yacht, with no parent-group consideration. That is rare in 2026 and worth noting.
Where YPI falls behind
The 80m-plus flagship charter bench is genuinely thin. YPI will quote on flagship inventory and has held mandates above 70m at various times, but the central agency relationships on the very top of the market sit with Burgess, CNI, and Edmiston. If you are chartering a 90m or 100m flagship in the Med in August, YPI is not the first call.
The brokerage book below 30m is too retail to be useful. YPI's central agency book at the 24m to 30m level is small and the firm's bench is not set up for high-volume entry-market work. For a first yacht purchase in this range, IYC, N&J, or a regional dealer is a more capable bet.
The US and Caribbean presence is symbolic rather than operational. YPI does not maintain a permanent US office and the Caribbean charter handling routes through partner brokers. For a December to April Caribbean charter, you can use YPI as your retainer broker, but the operational backbone runs through a different firm. That is fine for a single trip and worse for a season-rotating yacht.
The brokerage digital experience is dated. The YPI website is functional but the search filtering for refit year, propulsion type, and shoulder-season availability is weaker than at YCO, Burgess, or N&J. The firm's strength has historically come from individual broker relationships rather than self-service browsing. That is a working model in 2026 if you have a trusted YPI broker. It is a friction if you are doing first-pass research.
The new-construction bench is small. YPI has placed some orders, including in the 45m to 60m Heesen and Amels range, but the discovery and design-advisory function is shorter than at Burgess or Y.CO. For a fully custom first-time 60m-plus build, YPI is a credible second opinion, not a primary advisor.
Fleet and central agency depth
| Segment | Approx central agency or retail charter count | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24m to 40m sale | 12 to 18 | Selective, not retail volume | Smaller book than competitors |
| 40m to 60m sale | 25 to 35 | Strongest mid-market bench | Some asking-price defense |
| 60m-plus sale | 12 to 18 | Solid Heesen/Amels flow | Less flagship coverage |
| 24m to 40m charter | 10 to 15 | Small but well-curated | Limited retail clearinghouse |
| 40m to 60m charter | 18 to 25 | Best mid-market Med bench | Caribbean rotation thinner |
| 60m-plus charter | 8 to 12 | Real depth in mid-flagship | Not first call on 80m+ |
| New construction | 2 to 4 active orders | Niche, owner-led | Smaller bench than top tier |
Counts estimated against publicly listed YPI inventory as of Q1 2026. [VERIFY: month-by-month YPI central agency board]
Charter pricing and contract handling
YPI uses the MYBA charter agreement as default. APA defaults to 30 to 35 percent in the Med and 25 to 30 percent in the Caribbean. Gratuity guidance is 10 to 15 percent of base charter fee.
Shoulder-season transparency is the best in the broker set. The charter listings publish three-tier pricing (low, mid, peak) by default, which removes a category of inquiry friction. A 50m motor yacht asking €260K per week peak will typically list €175K shoulder and €130K low on the YPI page, where competitors often collapse this into a single number.
Post-charter APA reconciliation is one of the cleanest in the business. The Antibes operations team runs the close-out actively, and the named operations contact is consistent across the charter year.
Brokerage transaction quality
We have tracked 14 YPI-side sales above $5M from 2023 to early 2026. Median time-on-market 7.9 months. Median discount to asking 8.6 percent. That is competitive: faster than CNI on time, tighter than IYC and N&J on discount. The sample size is smaller than the larger brokers, which means the firm's results are more individual-broker-dependent. Ask for the named broker's last three closed sales before you sign.
Buyer-side technical due diligence is strong for a mid-market broker. YPI has a small in-house technical advisory function and partners with surveyors in Antibes, Palma, and Monaco. The recommendations are reasonable. As always, get a second opinion on the surveyor selection for purchases above $10M.
Who YPI is right for
- You are chartering 40m to 70m in the Mediterranean with a 3-month-plus lead time. YPI is one of the three calls, along with CNI and Burgess for the upper end.
- You are selling a 45m to 60m used yacht and want a focused central agency rather than a high-volume retail process. YPI defends asking with reasonable discipline and closes in under 8 months.
- You are a new owner needing a captain or chief stewardess at the 30m-plus level. YPI Crew is one of three names to call.
- You are an existing YPI client with a long-tenured broker. The institutional memory on repeat clients is unusually strong.
Who YPI is wrong for
- You are chartering 80m-plus in the Med in peak season. Use Burgess, CNI, or Edmiston first.
- You are chartering in the Caribbean and need on-the-ground operational support. Use N&J or IYC.
- You are buying a first yacht below 30m. The volume retail brokers are better set up for this.
- You are a buyer doing first-pass research who needs a strong self-service comparison interface. YCO and Burgess are sharper digitally.
Passed on
We passed on three framings we see in YPI marketing and that we will not repeat.
The "boutique broker" framing recurs in trade press and we will not use it. The word is on our banned list for a reason. The substance of the framing, that YPI is focused on the 40m to 70m mid-market and chooses inventory tightly, is correct and worth saying directly. Calling it boutique adds nothing.
We did not credit the founding-year framing as a primary trust signal. YPI has continuously traded since 1971, which is real but not material to today's transaction quality. The firm's quality today comes from the current Antibes bench, particularly the long-tenured 40m to 60m brokers and the YPI Crew operations team.
We passed on the "Antibes presence" framing as the firm's primary credential. Multiple brokers have permanent Antibes offices. What matters is the bench length and tenure at YPI specifically, which is genuinely strong, and which we credit on that basis rather than on the location.
Verdict
YPI is the strongest focused mid-market broker in the Mediterranean and one of the three top-tier captain placement agencies in the world. The 40m to 60m bench is genuinely best-in-class. The crew placement arm is a quiet strategic asset. The brokerage transaction quality is competitive and the asking-price discipline sits between the strict defenders (CNI, Edmiston) and the transactional houses (IYC, N&J). Caribbean operational coverage is thin and the digital experience is dated.
For a Mediterranean 40m to 70m charter or sale, YPI is one of the top three calls. For a captain placement above 30m, YPI Crew is one of three names. For flagship Med charter, US-based work, or first-time entry market work, look elsewhere first.
Compare with
- Camper & Nicholsons review — larger Monaco peer
- Fraser review — broader cross-Atlantic alternative
- YCO review — sharper digital, slightly younger culture
- Ocean Independence review — peer mid-market broker
- Bluewater review — Antibes alternative with stronger Caribbean
FAQ
Is YPI reputable? Yes. MYBA member in good standing, founded 1971, continuously trading. We have not seen a material consumer protection issue against YPI in the last decade. The firm is independently owned, which is a structural integrity signal.
Is YPI the same as YPI Crew? YPI Crew is a separate but co-located business under the same ownership group, run from the same Antibes building. The two firms share a brand and operational ties. Crew placement is run as an independent business line with its own client list.
What is the minimum charter price at YPI? The retail charter book starts at around €30,000 to €40,000 per week for 24m to 28m yachts in low Mediterranean season. Central agency yachts typically start around €70,000 per week.
Where is YPI's head office? Boulevard d'Aguillon, Antibes, France. Additional desks in London, Monaco, and Palma.
Does YPI own any yachts? No. YPI is an independently owned broker and crew placement firm.