BehneMar, the boutique yachting consultancy firm known for its prominence in the middle eastern market, has announced the appointment of Tim Trenker as CEO to develop the group’s next period of growth. Christopher Behne will resume his role as managing partner with a concentration of general maritime services of the group with offices in Dubai, Riyadh, Monaco and Beirut. SuperyachtNews speaks with Dr Rainer Behne, chairman of BehneMar, about Trenker’s appointment and BehneMar’s market position.

“BehneMar is at a positive moment of change and we count on the young leadership to further implement their strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead,” starts Behne. “Mr Tim Trenker is a visionary with a proven track record and deep leadership capabilities who will continue to steer BehneMar’s further successful development and growth.”

Trenker joins BehneMar with a background in the premium automobile and maritime industry, he will have a particular focus on expanding BehneMar’s services into new markets in the yachting industry.

“I am honoured and excited to have the trust from the Behne family to lead BehneMar into the future,” comments Trenker. “I believe in BehneMar’s consultancy model and look forward to continuing to expanding the BehneMar brand globally.”

Tim Trenker, BehneMar CEO

On the consultancy model alluded to by Trenker, Behne explains that the BehneMar model differs from the vast majority of brokerage houses in one particularly noteworthy way. “We are not a typical brokerage firm in so far as we do not go hunting for the fee,” continues Behne. “We prefer to call ourselves consultants because that is more representative of the business model that we operate and I don’t see many other people out there delivering this kind of service. We see it every day when we are looking for yachts, brokers chasing the fee. However, I must add that there are some big players out there that deliver a great service as well, I am not talking about them.

Perhaps key to BehneMar’s success has been the groups understanding of cultural specialities under the guidance of Behne himself. It has seemed like at times, when the brokerage market has attempted to sell into emerging economies or less established yachting communities, the attempts have fallen short because of a lack of cultural and specialist knowledge.

“Cultural knowledge is very important. We have been established in the Middle East for a number of years and have followed the superyacht market closely. Following the financial crisis 10 years ago, people were careful buying superyachts. The money was there, but no one wanted to show it or commit, so having the right business approach has been key to our firm’s success in the Middle East. Business has generally picked up over the years, with the 2019 Dubai Boatshow having shown a good so traffic and interest towards to the superyachts”

“BehneMar attended for the 15th year the Dubai International Boatshow in March this year, continuing to invest and believe in the middle east market and the outcome was fantastic. Though many potential prospects in the Middle East have been unwilling to buy over the last years we found not only a surprising interest but genuine local buyers during the show and are consequently in serious discussions for various transactions”

However, while many associate the Middle Eastern market with the very largest superyacht purchases, the fact is that Middle Eastern clients are now looking towards the 40-60m market. As BehneMar ushers in the next stage of its development with the appointment of Trenker as CEO, the business continues to stay on track and adapt to its various specialised world markets.

Click here to become part of The Superyacht Group community, and join us in our mission to make this industry accessible to all, and prosperous for the long-term. We are offering access to the superyacht industry’s most comprehensive and longstanding archive of business-critical information, as well as a comprehensive, real-time superyacht fleet database, for just £10 per month, because we are One Industry with One Mission. Sign up here.