Buying • Selling • Building
Part 1
In this 12 part series Rosemont Yacht Services looks at key transaction issues in Superyacht Acquisitions, Superyacht Sales and Superyacht New Buildings, and considers how we can assist owners in the process.
Buying a Superyacht: From First Viewing to Delivery
Plan before the offer
Finding the yacht is only the beginning. Before committing, the buyer should define intended use, cruising profile, ownership, flag, VAT/customs position, delivery location and financing. These decisions interact and can be difficult to change later.
The core team - broker, technical adviser, lawyer, tax/VAT adviser, administrator and, where required, lender and insurer - should therefore be assembled early.
For an internationally resident buyer, this planning should include the owner's home jurisdiction. A US, UK or Swiss-resident buyer may need home-country tax or reporting advice alongside the yacht-specific analysis, particularly where an offshore SPV, trust, foundation or family holding structure is contemplated.
Contract, deposit and due diligence
The offer or LOI establishes price, deposit, sea-trial and survey conditions, inventory, delivery and timetable. The definitive MOA or bespoke agreement turns those points into binding obligations. Once signed, KYC is completed and the deposit is normally placed with the agreed stakeholder or escrow agent.
The sea trial tests performance; the condition survey investigates the yacht in depth. In parallel, title due diligence verifies seller authority, ownership, mortgages, registry status, VAT/customs evidence and statutory documentation. Survey findings must be considered against the contractual defect regime rather than treated as an automatic opportunity to renegotiate.
Closing and delivery
Closing brings together funds, any seller mortgage discharge, Bill of Sale, insurance, registry deletion, new registration and any lender mortgage. The Protocol of Delivery and Acceptance records the exact delivery moment when title, possession and risk normally pass.
After delivery, technical records, passwords, crew,management, accounting, insurance and registry formalities still need to be completed. A good acquisition ends with an ownership structure ready to operate, not merely a yacht handed over.
Planning for day one of ownership
The buyer should plan beyond delivery. The yacht needs an operating bank account, corporate administration, insurance, management, crew employment and payroll, registry documentation and an accounting framework. The captain needs authority to operate and access to technical systems and passwords. Where the yacht will charter, the commercial and VAT arrangements need to be ready. The strongest acquisition process therefore asks not only 'can we close?' but also 'can the yacht operate correctly the morning after closing?'
The importance of the inventory
The inventory deserves more attention than it often receives. On a substantial yacht, tenders, personal watercraft, diving equipment, spare parts, artwork, loose furniture, wine, specialist tools and AV equipment can represent significant value. The parties should also identify the seller's personal effects and any leased or third-party equipment. A clear inventory avoids the unsatisfactory situation in which the yacht has been accepted technically but the parties are still arguing over what is actually included in the purchase price.
The buyer's parallel workstreams
A yacht purchase should not be managed as a sequence in which one adviser finishes before the next begins. Technical due diligence, title review, ownership structuring, finance, flag, insurance and VAT/customs planning normally need to progress in parallel. For example, the lender may need the proposed flag before approving its mortgage structure, while the registry may require ownership information that depends on the final SPV. A change in delivery location can then affect both tax analysis and the closing timetable. A master transaction checklist is therefore more than an administrative convenience: it identifies dependencies before they become closing problems.
Once completed, the buyer should retain a permanent acquisition file containing the signed MOA, Bill of Sale, Protocol of Delivery and Acceptance, registry evidence, VAT/customs documents, survey reports, insurance records, financing documents and corporate approvals. These records may become important years later when the yacht is refinanced, moved between registries or eventually sold.
Keep the acquisition file
Although every acquisition is different, the buyer should expect the main workstreams to overlap. KYC and ownership structuring can begin while the survey is being arranged; the lender can progress its valuation while title documents are reviewed; and the registry and insurer can prepare for delivery before the final closing date is fixed. This parallel approach shortens the transaction without sacrificing control. A central timetable should identify contractual notice dates, survey deadlines, financing conditions, registry requirements and the documents needed for delivery.
A practical transaction timetable
How Rosemont Yacht Services can assist
RYS can act as a central coordination point throughout the acquisition, helping the owner bring together the different workstreams required to move from an agreed purchase to an operational yacht.
Our involvement can start before the MOA is signed, with consideration of the proposed ownership structure, flag, intended cruising and charter activity, VAT/customs position and delivery arrangements.
During the transaction, we can coordinate ownership company establishment, KYC, escrow arrangements, registry matters and liaison with the lawyers, brokers, surveyors, lenders, insurers, managers and other professional advisers.
At closing, RYS can assist in coordinating the documents, funds, registration and administrative steps required for delivery. Our role can then continue after delivery through yacht administration, accounting, corporate administration and, where applicable, VAT/fiscal representation and support for the yacht’s ongoing operating structure.
The objective is simple: not only to help the owner acquire the yacht, but to ensure that the ownership and administrative structure is ready when the yacht is delivered.
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RYS TRANSACTION CHECK
Before signing the MOA, have you considered:
Ownership structure • Flag • VAT/customs status • Delivery location • Financing • Insurance • Intended charter activity • Post-delivery administration?
Buying • Selling • Building
The RYS Superyacht Transaction Series - 12 practical guides to managing a yacht transaction from planning to completion.
You may also be interested in
- Insight - The Complete Guide to Superyacht Ownership by Rosemont Yacht Services
- Who we are - Rosemont Yacht Services
- Part 2 – Before You Make an Offer: 10 Decisions a Yacht Buyer Should Make First
Important note: General information only. Transaction-specific legal, tax, customs, regulatory and flag advice should be obtained where required.