Buying • Selling • Building
Part 5
In this 12-part series Rosemont Yacht Services looks at key transaction issues in Superyacht Acquisitions, Superyacht Sales and Superyacht New Builds, and considers how we can assist owners in the process.
Selling a Superyacht: From Preparing for Sale to Final Delivery
Prepare before marketing
Assemble title and registry records, class/statutory certificates, maintenance and refit history, available VAT/import evidence and corporate authorities. Address presentation and known maintenance issues before the first serious buyer appears. The seller should effectively due-diligence its own yacht before the buyer does.
Prepare the documentary data room
A seller can materially improve the transaction by creating a structured data room before marketing becomes serious. Registry extracts, corporate documents, title records, class and statutory certificates, refit records, service history and VAT/customs evidence should be organised and checked for consistency. Access should be controlled and a record kept of material information supplied.
Offers, contract and survey
Headline price is only one factor. Deposit, buyer credibility, financing, survey conditions, timetable and delivery requirements affect execution risk. Once the contract is signed, KYC, deposit, sea trial, survey and delivery run to contractual deadlines.
The captain and manager should facilitate the buyer’s technical work. Survey findings may lead to repairs, retention or price adjustment, but genuine contractual defects should be distinguished from attempts to reopen the bargain.
Control information throughout the sale
As buyer due diligence progresses, the seller should maintain a record of information and documents supplied. Consistency matters: an explanation given by the broker should not conflict with a document later supplied by the administrator or captain. A central enquiry list can make the process more efficient and reduce accidental over-disclosure.
The seller remains responsible until delivery
Once the buyer has accepted the yacht, the seller remains responsible for preserving the agreed condition until delivery. Maintenance continues, insurance remains in force and agreed repairs must be completed. The seller should avoid changes to equipment or inventory that could create a dispute at final inspection.
Think about net proceeds, not only sale price
Brokerage commission, lender redemption, professional fees, repairs agreed after survey, taxes and other liabilities can materially reduce the amount ultimately available to the owner. A preliminary closing statement helps convert the headline sale price into a realistic estimate of net proceeds.
Closing and beyond
Prepare the Bill of Sale, deletion documents, corporate approvals and available VAT/customs evidence and coordinate redemption of any existing mortgage. The PDA records delivery and transfer of risk.
Afterwards, record the disposal, reconcile proceeds, complete applicable VAT/tax reporting and audits, settle liabilities and receivables and only then consider liquidation of a single-purpose yacht company. A clean corporate exit is part of the sale project, not an unrelated task months later.
How Rosemont Yacht Services can assist
RYS can become involved before the yacht is marketed by helping the owner prepare the ownership and administrative structure for sale, review the availability of corporate, registry, accounting and VAT/customs records and establish the transaction data room.
During the transaction, RYS can coordinate with the owner’s broker, lawyers, manager, captain, surveyors and other advisers; assist with administrative due diligence; provide stakeholder or escrow services where agreed; and coordinate registry, financing, insurance and closing requirements.
Our involvement can continue after sale through accounting for the disposal, coordination of outstanding VAT/tax requirements with relevant advisers, settlement of remaining company matters and, where appropriate, eventual liquidation or dissolution of the yacht-owning entity.
The objective is not simply to complete the sale, but to leave the seller with a properly completed transaction and a clean ownership and administrative position afterwards.
RYS Transaction Check
☐ Title and ownership records complete?
☐ Registry documentation current?
☐ Mortgage/security position clear?
☐ VAT/customs evidence assembled?
☐ Class/statutory and maintenance records organised?
☐ Data room and KYC material ready?
☐ Net proceeds estimated after costs and liabilities?
☐ Survey and pre-delivery actions tracked?
☐ Closing/deletion requirements ready?
☐ Post-sale SPV strategy considered?
You may also be interested in
- Insight - The Complete Guide to Superyacht Ownership by Rosemont Yacht Services
- Who we are - Rosemont Yacht Services
- Part 4 – Closing a Superyacht Purchase: How Money, Title, Flag and Delivery Come Together
- Part 6 – Preparing a Yacht for Sale: Why the Work Should Start Before the Yacht Is Listed
Important note: General information only. Transaction-specific legal, tax, customs, regulatory and flag advice should be obtained where required.