For many years, I’ve sat through panel discussions of the then-titled Global Superyacht Forum, hearing countless industry stakeholder bemoan the lack of market data available in the public realm.

And, in fairness to our historical panellists, while there has been much conjecture on the state of the market, there has been little in the way of big data to underline these discussions.

However, it will not have gone unnoticed during the 2017 overhaul of our portfolio that we have placed a new emphasis on data as the cornerstone of everything we do.

And so it is, at The Superyacht Forum this year, we’ll be delivering a series of market data sessions presented by The Superyacht Intelligence Agency, based on the findings of our 2017 Annual Reports.

Personally, I’m relishing the output from these sessions, which will encompass new build, refit and Mediterranean migration. My feeling is that the headline figures will make for candid reading, both positive and negative.

Bear in mind, for instance, that this year saw the refit and service market outstrip its new build cohort in terms of value for the first time. Or that, in the period 1997-2016, the 80m+ M/Y sector of the market grew by 251.6 per cent, compared to a growth in the size of the overall fleet of 63.5 per cent over the same time period.

Then there is the fact that, by 2020, up to 4,271 superyachts are expected to be located in the Med during summer months, with 3,697 remaining during winter months.

These are the sort of headline figures that inform prudent business decisions and remove the need for speculative guesswork.

The Superyacht Intelligence sessions will be taking place on Monday 13th, at 15:00 (Marinas & Migration); Wednesday 15th, at 12:00 (Refit); and Wednesday 15th, at 16:30 (New Build). So, if you haven’t already, you can purchase your tickets to the forum on a daily basis, depending on your area of focus. However, in my book, nobody can underestimate the value of good data, so why not book your pass to the whole forum? It’s the prudent choice.

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