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Burgess and IYC are credible brokerages on either side of a band line that runs at roughly 55m LOA. Above 55m, Burgess wins almost every transaction we have tracked over the past 36 months. Below 55m and particularly in the 35-to-50m band, IYC wins more transactions than Burgess does and routinely wins more than the public-facing market share suggests. We rank Burgess at No. I and IYC at No. IV on our best yacht sales brokers page; the gap is real, but it does not tell the buyer in the 35-to-55m band which way to go. This page does.
This comparison sits behind the Burgess review and the IYC review and tracks both.
The 30-second verdict
If your transaction sits at 35m to 55m, default to IYC. If your transaction sits above 55m and particularly above 70m, default to Burgess. The 55-to-65m band is the contested zone where either is defensible. The four edge cases that decide the contested zone are listed below.
Why the band line matters
The structural reason these two brokerages do not compete head-to-head on most transactions is the senior-broker attention allocation at each house. Burgess's senior team is calibrated to the 70m-plus segment. The senior brokers will run the 70m-plus listings and the management portfolio is concentrated at the upper LOAs. A 40m yacht listed with Burgess will get the brokerage's marketing reach but a comparatively junior team allocation and slower asking-to-selling-price negotiation tempo. IYC, by contrast, runs the 35-to-55m band as its primary segment. The senior team handles those listings and the close-rate on 35-to-50m central listings at IYC is meaningfully tighter than at Burgess.
This is not a quality gap. It is an attention-allocation gap. A 40m yacht is not a Burgess priority. A 90m yacht is not an IYC priority. Both are credible on the other end of the band line, but neither is operating at peak performance there.
Eight dimensions, side by side
| Dimension | Burgess | IYC |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1975, London | 2007 (Florida) [VERIFY: founding year and city] |
| Offices, senior | London, Monaco, Miami, New York, Athens, Palma, Singapore [VERIFY] | Fort Lauderdale, Monaco, Athens, Palma, Hong Kong, Genoa [VERIFY] |
| Sales focus band | 70m-plus primary, 50m-70m secondary | 35m-55m primary, 55m-70m secondary |
| Charter desk | $300K-plus weekly primary | $150K-to-$400K weekly primary |
| Management portfolio | 50 to 70 yachts under management [VERIFY] | 80 to 110 yachts under management [VERIFY] |
| Off-market access | Strong at 80m-plus | Strong at 35m-55m |
| New-build advisory | Lürssen, Feadship, Oceanco, Abeking & Rasmussen at broker-of-record | Benetti, Sanlorenzo, Heesen, Westport at broker-of-record [VERIFY] |
| Florida and US East Coast presence | Senior team in Miami, growing | Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, deepest US presence in industry |
The two dimensions that decide most reader decisions on this page are the sales focus band and the Florida and US East Coast presence. Below 55m, IYC's senior-team attention and the US-side service density both lean toward IYC. Above 70m, Burgess's international buyer-pool reach and the upper-LOA senior depth both lean toward Burgess.
Where Burgess wins
Burgess is the broker we recommend on three specific kinds of transactions inside the contested zone and one outside it.
The 60-to-70m sales transaction with an international (non-US) buyer pool target wins to Burgess. The brokerage's senior-broker network in London, Monaco, Athens, and Singapore reaches the European and Asian family-office buyer set in a way that IYC does not yet match. A seller wanting a global auction at this LOA should run Burgess as the primary central-listing broker.
The 60m-plus sales transaction where the buyer-side advisory requires a deep surveyor-and-captain-network engagement wins to Burgess. The senior team's career provenance through the captain and surveyor side, which is the structural Burgess advantage, becomes load-bearing at the 60m-plus diligence depth. IYC handles diligence credibly but does not run the captain-and-surveyor advisory at Burgess's depth.
The 70m-plus charter booking with a $400K-plus weekly rate wins to Burgess. IYC's charter desk is calibrated to the $150K-to-$400K weekly band and the lifestyle planning and captain-and-crew vetting at the $500K-plus weekly level is genuinely Burgess's territory.
Outside the contested zone, the 80m-plus sales transaction wins to Burgess without ambiguity.
Where IYC wins
IYC is the broker we recommend on four specific kinds of transactions inside the contested zone and several outside it.
The 35-to-50m sales transaction wins to IYC, full stop. The senior-team attention, the close-rate, and the asking-to-selling-price gap are all materially better at IYC than at Burgess in this band. A seller of a 45m yacht listing central should not have Burgess on the shortlist of three. They should have IYC, Fraser, and Northrop & Johnson on the shortlist.
The US-based buyer of any yacht 35m to 65m wins to IYC. The Fort Lauderdale base and the US East Coast service density (the brokerage runs the largest US-side technical service relationships in the industry [VERIFY: relationship details]) save the buyer real money on the diligence-through-close cycle and on the post-close first-year ownership.
The 35-to-55m new-build slot at Benetti, Sanlorenzo, or Heesen wins to IYC. The brokerage's broker-of-record relationships with the Italian and Dutch series-build yards are deeper than Burgess's at this LOA, and the slot availability and pricing discipline are reflected in the brokerage's commentary.
The 50m-plus charter with a US East Coast cruising brief (Bahamas, BVI, US Virgin Islands) wins to IYC. The captain-and-crew network on the East Coast charter circuit favors IYC and the operational interface in the Caribbean season runs through Fort Lauderdale, where IYC's desk is the densest in the industry.
Outside the contested zone, the 30-to-40m sales transaction wins to IYC, Fraser, or Northrop & Johnson, with IYC the strongest of the three on US-side service.
Where it is too close to call
The 55-to-65m central listing where the seller wants a global auction and the price discipline is the load-bearing variable is genuinely contested. Both will deliver the marketing reach. Both will engage the global buyer pool. Burgess will lean to the international long-listing cycle. IYC will lean to the US East Coast and Caribbean-season cycle. The decision comes down to where the seller thinks the buyer is.
The 50-to-60m sales transaction where the buyer has not yet decided on a target market (Mediterranean home cruising versus Caribbean home cruising) is similarly contested. Burgess will guide the buyer into the Mediterranean framework. IYC will guide the buyer into the Caribbean framework. Both are defensible. The eventual buying decision will reflect the broker's home cruising market.
What we would change about both
Burgess we would change on the 35-to-55m volume model. The brokerage's marketing reach is misallocated at the lower end of its band. A seller in this band is buying reach they do not need at the expense of attention they do. The brokerage should refer down or partner more aggressively with a specialist in the 35-to-50m band. It does not, because the central-listing fee runs through Burgess regardless. The seller's interest does not.
IYC we would change on the international brand-visibility work. The brokerage's reach in the European and Asian family-office buyer set is materially thinner than its US reach. A seller of a 55m-plus yacht through IYC will get strong US-side coverage and slightly thinner international-side coverage. The brokerage is investing in the international side and has made meaningful hires in Monaco and Hong Kong in the past 24 months [VERIFY: recent senior hires], but it is not yet at the level the asking-to-selling-price discipline at 55m-plus requires.
Both we would change on the asking-to-selling-price comparables disclosure. Neither will routinely share closed-transaction data with prospective buyers in a structured form. This is industry norm and applies to every broker in the top tier.
The close-call default
For a reader who has narrowed the choice to these two and cannot decide on the band-line framework above, the close-call default is IYC for any transaction under 55m LOA and any US-based buyer, and Burgess for any transaction over 55m LOA with an international target market. The simplest version: IYC for the Florida buyer of a 45m yacht; Burgess for the London buyer of a 65m yacht.
The deeper rule is the same as on the Burgess vs Edmiston page: run both for a first call, let the senior broker on each side reveal where the attention is allocated, and make the decision after the third call.
How to inquire
Burgess: the /brokers/burgess-review/ page carries the referral inquiry form.
IYC: the /brokers/iyc-review/ page carries the same.