Private Market Access
Deep inventory, and a tax position that has to be understood first.
The Mediterranean holds the largest concentration of yachts above 130 feet anywhere in the world, and for an American buyer it is genuinely worth looking at. The choice at the top of the market is broader than Florida's, and the build quality of the European fleet reflects yards that have been doing this for a century.
The complication is fiscal rather than technical. Every European yacht carries a VAT status — paid, unpaid, or held under a temporary admission regime — and it materially affects both value and what you can legally do with the vessel. Two otherwise identical yachts can differ materially in price on VAT status alone, because EU VAT rates run from roughly 17% to 27%.
For a buyer intending to bring the yacht to the United States, that can work in your favour, but only if the export and import mechanics are planned before closing rather than discovered afterwards.
Sample dataPlatform demonstration. The opportunities shown are sample records used to illustrate how the private market is presented — they are not offers, and no vessel shown is represented as available.
5 opportunities published
Confidential · Masked until qualification
VERIFIED OFF-MARKET· Seller position confirmed
German Build · 2016 · Refit 2023
Mediterranean
Price on request
BROKER-SOURCED· Seller position confirmed
Turkish Build · 2018
Mediterranean
$6.8M–$7.9M
Estimated asking range
POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY
German Build · 2019
Mediterranean
Price on request
Availability not confirmed. Our acquisition team can investigate privately on behalf of qualified buyers.
BROKER-SOURCED· Seller position confirmed
Northern European Build · 2017 · Refit 2024
Mediterranean
$6.5M–$7.8M
Estimated asking range
VERIFIED OFF-MARKET· Seller position confirmed
Dutch Build · 2012 · Refit 2021
Mediterranean
$39M–$46M
Estimated asking range
VAT status records whether European value added tax has been paid on a vessel. A VAT-paid yacht can circulate freely in EU waters; a VAT-unpaid yacht is restricted to temporary admission periods or non-EU ownership. Because standard EU VAT rates run from roughly 17% to 27% depending on the country, the status materially affects the price and the buyer pool.
Yes, routinely. The practical questions are whether the yacht will remain in Europe or be exported to the United States, how the sale is structured for VAT purposes, and where the closing takes place. All three should be settled with maritime counsel before an offer is made.
Monaco and the French Riviera for the largest vessels, the Italian coast around Viareggio and Genoa where much of the fleet is built and refitted, Palma de Mallorca as the principal refit and brokerage hub, and Greece and Turkey for the eastern charter market.
Headline prices can look lower, particularly on VAT-unpaid vessels, but the comparison is only meaningful once you have modelled VAT, import duty and delivery. Buyers regularly find the apparent saving disappears.
Either on her own bottom via the Atlantic, which is practical for suitable vessels with the right crew and season, or by yacht transport ship. Both are routine; the choice depends on the vessel, the timing and the cost.
May through September, with the fleet in refit through the winter. Inventory decisions frequently follow the end of the season.
Yes. Turkish yards produce a significant share of the world's explorer yachts, and the Eastern Mediterranean charter fleet is within the market we cover.
The industry term "VAT-paid status" corresponds to a craft's customs "Union status" under recent European Commission guidance. That guidance is not legally binding, and the sources above are secondary summaries of it.
Standard VAT rates in EU member states range from roughly 17% to 27%, so the effect on a yacht's price depends on the country concerned.
General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice.
Tell us what you are looking for. We will search the private market and come back to you with what is genuinely there.