Is building on speculation the right choice? T€¦ · All data in this article was provided from...
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22 superyachttimes.com The SuperYacht Times | September / October 2016 Shipyards T o say that building a brand new superyacht is no small feat is an understate- ment. The investment of time and money is substantial and, for many, it will be a once in a lifetime experience in which every day waiting for the end result is a relished part of the experience. For just as many, however, the pros of purchasing a vessel built on speculation outweigh the cons drastically, saving both an incredible amount of money as well as knocking, in some cases, years off the lead time - benefits that no one can deny are attractive. From the perspective of the shipyards and despite the element of financial risk in- volved, building superyachts on speculation has become a very solid business model in the superyacht industry. Though the number and size of the speculation pro- jects has increased as the business has grown and progressed over the years, this is, in fact, not new. As an example, it was more than 20 years ago that the original owner of the 50 metre Amels motor yacht Tigre D’Or ordered a second yacht so he could sell it at a profit, which he successfully did, and in the years to follow he continued to build vessels with the in- tention to keep on selling. Other examples include the Lürssen projects Marlin, Nemo and Shark (67, 70 and 70 metres respective- ly), which were ordered more than 10 years ago by an American property developer, who then sold two of the yachts and kept one. The major difference between the aforemen- tioned projects and the speculative projects of today is that nowadays the large majority of these projects are begun by shipyards and their investors as opposed to clients. Here we ask some of the most important speculation builders why building on spec is the right choice for them. DEFINITION: A speculative superyacht build refers to a yacht of which the construction is started by an entity with the intention to sell the project over the course of the con- struction. Turquoise Yats Our business model relies on building spec yachts - we believe it is an added value to us and, of course, the client who will not have to wait up to four years for a new vessel. Besides the time factor there is also an economic factor since the initial process of a spec yacht is much more streamlined then a full custom build that will require many more development hours, mostly generated by the client’s team specific requirements. The challenges are like in every other industry that wants to sell a product - try and foresee which characteristics will be the most appealing to the largest amount of people - only that our mar- ket is extremely small compared to most other markets, so the number of potential customers that can afford to buy a large yacht is compara- tively smaller. To ensure our success in the business we do a lot of market research, including technical solu- tions and design input from a variety of world renowned designers such as Andrew Winch, H2 Yacht Design, Nuvolari Lenard, and Vitruvius... to name but a few. Heesen Yats Yachts built on spec are an integral part of Hessen’s commercial strategy. In fact, we were one of the first shipyards to develop yacht models with this in mind – the 37 metre semi-displacement range was engi- neered in this spirit. Spec-built boats are also an integral part of our success, every year we have two ready to offer. We conduct market research to choose what we will build. There are many advantages to a spec built yacht, beyond the shorter delivery time. Owners get a proven platform and perfected engineering, while still having a great de- gree of customisation as the project is con- ceived so that clients stepping in at certain stage can make significant changes so that the new boat perfectly fits their lifestyle. Building on speculation doesn’t mean keeping to the status quo. Heesen pushes innovation on its spec builds, such as the 50 metre Project Nova, which will be the world’s first FDHF superyacht with hybrid propulsion. Heesen Yachts are continuing to grow in size. We started with 37 and are now in the 50 to 55 metre range, and thinking of 60 metres! Westport Yats Building on speculation is key to our business. It keeps costs down with large investments in hull design, tooling and process flow to ensure first-time-through accuracy, as well as superior fit, finish and detail. It also assures that delivery is on time and on budget, every time. Challenges involving in building on speculation include large costs involved if the yacht is not spoken for, and regulating our production schedule to meet mar- ket needs. We definitely believe the size of speculation builds will continue to grow to yachts over 70 or 80 metres. We have seen with our buyers how many have progressed through our model range from 34 metres, then to 40 metres, and then up to a 50 metre vessel - and now they are moving up again. All data in this article was provided from SuperYacht iQ. 13.5% sold as speculation project Is building on speculation the right choice? Heesen’s Project Nova Westport 130 32.5% built on speculation and available for sale Turquoise 77m Project NB63 46% of the order book started on speculation 47% of shipyards build one or more superyacht on speculation 23% increase of projects started on speculation from 2014-15 510GT average volume of speculation projects in 2015 44m average LOA of speculation projects in 2015
Transcript of Is building on speculation the right choice? T€¦ · All data in this article was provided from...
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superyachttimes.com
The SuperYacht Times | September / October 2016Shipyards
To say t hat building a brand new superyacht is no small feat is an understate-ment . The investment of t i me a nd
money is substantial and, for many, it will be a once in a lifetime experience in which every day waiting for the end result is a relished part of the experience. For just as many, however, the pros of purchasing a vessel built on speculation outweigh the cons drastically, saving both an incredible amount of money as well as knocking, in some cases, years off the lead time - benefits that no one can deny are attractive.
From the perspective of the shipyards and despite the element of financial risk in-volved, building superyachts on speculation has become a very solid business model in the superyacht industry. Though the number and size of the speculation pro-jects has increased as the business has grown and progressed over the years, this is, in fact, not new. As an example, it was more than 20 years ago that the original owner of the 50 metre Amels motor yacht Tigre D’Or ordered a second yacht so he could sell it at a profit, which he successfully did, and in the years to follow he continued to build vessels with the in-tention to keep on selling. Other examples include the Lürssen projects Marlin, Nemo and Shark (67, 70 and 70 metres respective-ly), which were ordered more than 10 years
ago by an American property developer, who then sold two of the yachts and kept one.The major difference between the aforemen-tioned projects and the speculative projects of today is that nowadays the large majority of these projects are begun by shipyards and their investors as opposed to clients. Here we ask some of the most important speculation builders why building on spec is the right choice for them.
DEFINITION:
A speculative superyacht build refers to a yacht of which the construction is started by an entity with the intention to sell the project over the course of the con-struction.
Turquoise Yachts
Our business model relies on building spec yachts - we
believe it is an added value to us and, of course, the client
who will not have to wait up to four years for a new vessel. Besides the time
factor there is also an economic factor since the initial process of a spec yacht is much more streamlined then a full custom build that will require many more development hours, mostly generated by the client’s team specific requirements.The challenges are like in every other industry that wants to sell a product - try and foresee which characteristics will be the most appealing to the largest amount of
people - only that our mar-ket is extremely small
compared to most other markets, so the number of potential customers that can afford to buy a large yacht is compara-
tively smaller.To ensure our success
in the business we do a lot of market research,
including technical solu-tions and design input from a variety of world renowned designers such as Andrew Winch, H2 Yacht Design, Nuvolari Lenard, and Vitruvius... to name but a few.
Heesen YachtsYachts built on spec are an integral part of Hessen’s commercial strategy. In fact, we were one of the first shipyards to develop yacht models with this in mind – the 37 metre semi-displacement range was engi-neered in this spirit. Spec-built boats are also an integral part of our success, every year we have two ready to offer. We conduct market research to choose what we will build. There are many advantages to a spec built yacht, beyond the shorter delivery time. Owners get a proven platform and perfected engineering, while still having a great de-gree of customisation as the project is con-ceived so that clients stepping in at certain stage can make significant changes so that the new boat perfectly fits their lifestyle. Building on speculation doesn’t mean keeping to the status quo. Heesen pushes innovation on its spec builds, such as the 50 metre Project Nova, which will be the world’s first FDHF superyacht with hybrid
propulsion. Heesen Yachts are continuing to grow in size. We started with 37 and are now in the 50 to 55 metre range, and thinking of 60 metres!
Westport Yachts
Building on speculation is key to our business. It
keeps costs down with large investments in hull design, tooling and process flow to ensure first-time-through accuracy, as well as superior fit, finish and detail. It also assures that delivery is on time and on budget, every time.Challenges involving in building on speculation include large costs involved if the yacht is not spoken for, and regulating our production schedule to meet mar-ket needs . We definitely believe the size of speculation builds will continue to grow to yachts over 70 or 80 metres . We have seen with our buyers how many have progressed through our model range from 34 metres, then to 40 metres, and then up to a 50 metre vessel - and now they are moving up again.
All data in this article was provided from SuperYacht iQ.
13.5%sold as speculation
project
Is building on speculation the right choice?
Heesen’s Project Nova
Westport 130
32.5%built on speculation and
available for sale
Turquoise 77m Project NB63
46%of the order
book started on
speculation
47%of shipyards build one
or more superyacht on
speculation
23%increase of projects
started on speculation
from 2014-15
510GTaverage volume of
speculation projects in
2015
44maverage LOA of
speculation projects in
2015
