West Nautical expands to Antibes
West Nautical has announced the opening of their office in Antibes. Managing Director Geoff Moore gives his insight into the current state of the charter and brokerage markets, and what the news means for the company.…
West Nautical has announced the opening of their office in Antibes. The new premises, which will become the company's flagship office for sales and charter, as well as providing support to the company's yacht management and crew placement departments, will be centrally situated near Port Vauban and is planned to be operational in early April.
The West Nautical charter team based in the office will be Tina Collins, responsible for charter management, as well as Christina Gedamke, charter broker. Their new location will enable them to meet clients on the French Riviera and beyond to discuss their chartering requirements.
West Nautical's Tina Collins and Christina Gedamke
Speaking exclusively to SuperyachtNews.com, Managing Director Geoff Moore gives his insight into the current variable state of the charter market: “At the end of the summer 2015 season everyone was very excited because of a significantly high level of bookings, but this Caribbean season has been one of the quietest most charter brokers can remember,” he says.
“This can be explained by a huge influx of Arabian charter clients this summer, a great deal of whom made last minute bookings. These clients don’t tend to charter in the Caribbean and there has also been an uptick in bookings in the Indian Ocean and Asia. As a result, the market is very up and down depending on the season and the type of clientele.”
New premises in Antibes
The new office will also be occupied by members of the brokerage department during the busy summer season. For West Nautical, whose main client base falls in Russia, the brokerage sector is experiencing its own challenges.
“The political and financial situation in Russia has certainly seen a change that is not affecting other nations. There has been particular impact on the sub-40m size range, which is a market currently flooded with very good yachts at very good prices.”
For Moore, the Antibes office will represent a step forward for West Nautical as the company continues to expand into the superyacht charter and brokerage markets, by strategically locating itself in one of the world’s major superyacht hubs.
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