Photo from left to right: Natacha Roux (Société Monégasque de l’Electricité et du Gaz), Régis Fontanez (Department of Urban Planning), Virginie Hache-Vincenot (Mission for the Energy Transition) and Gilles Manera (Department of Public Parkings) by Stéphane Danna – Communication Department
Despite a 46% drop in turnover for the 2020/21 financial year, SBM Monte-Carlo has revealed an exciting new expansion plan for the famed Café de Paris in the Casino Square.
The figures unveiled by Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) CEO Jean-Luc Biamonti during a press conference on Friday were alarming but not altogether surprising. In a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, Monaco’s largest employer saw a turnover of €336.9 million, almost half that of the previous year’s €619.8 million.
Income from rental activity helped to prop up the group’s finances, as did profits from SBM’s equity in Betclic Everest Group, which amounted to €30.9 million.
But in order to mitigate the loss in turnover, the group initiated a drastic restructuring plan in March this year which saw the voluntary redundancy of 234 employees, and the forced redundancy of two, in areas that were overstaffed or needed reorganisation to restore competitiveness, according to SBM. It came at a cost of €25.3 million and is expected to yield annual savings of €18 million.
“These savings, along with other measures to bring costs more into line with seasonal fluctuations in activity, should enable the SBM Group to reduce its annual operating costs by around €25 million,” said Biamonti. “This will enable the SBM Group to return to the level of profitability needed to make the long-term investments required, once the health crisis has passed.”
The financial result for the 2020/2021 fiscal year was a loss of €7 million, compared to a loss of €5.1 million in 2019/2020.
But it hasn’t stopped SBM from pushing ahead with major redevelopment plans, including an expansion of the Café de Paris, revealed for the first-time during Friday’s press conference.
Plans are due to be approved in early 2022, and large-scale works will see the closure of the restaurant for 10 to 12 months, while the Casino will remain open for patrons.
The aim is to enlarge the iconic establishment and introduce a second kitchen to accommodate a larger clientele, that will be seated on an expanded terrace overlooking the Casino Square. The second floor and basement will also be completely redeveloped, while the rear of the restaurant will be turned into a commercial area offering luxury brands.
SBM aims to reopen the Café de Paris for the 2023 season.
Top photo source: SBM Press Centre
The course to set in order to become a superyacht owner representative is uncharted territory, but at journey’s end, the one abiding rule is to understand the owner inside and out and to know the yacht off by heart.
There’s no easy way to get there, but Owner Representative (OR) Volga Diaugo started off as a stewardess, working on 25 to 50 metre yachts for nine years. “That’s how I learnt about boatsn from the inside,” she explains.
She is now co-owner of The Doc Yachts Services based in Imperia, Italy. The OR’s role, she says, is to cover the owner’s back in every which way and do every single thing to make sure they do not encounter (or even know about) any problems on board: “With crew, with technical problems, with management, etc.”
And so how, one wonders, is this different from a yacht manager? Diaugo explains, “I am in direct contact with the owner, I am their eyes, their ears. My office is right in front of their boat. The Owner Rep gives 360° support of every aspect of the yacht, whereas yacht management involves 280°. We cover everything from design stage, construction, and after sales, managing itineraries, port bookings, provisioning, technical support, everything.”
Diaugo is owner representative for five vessels. She moved from Belorussia to Italy in 2005 and, as a Russian speaker, most of her owners are Russian speaking.
This year at the Monaco Yacht Show she represented the new flagship Class category yacht from the Benetti shipyard, the Benetti Diamond 44m. With exterior design by Giorgio M. Cassetta, the interior is the work of Benetti’s Interior Style Department. With a fibreglass hull and 469 gross tonnes in weight, the yacht sleeps 10 guests in five cabins with a crew of nine. At 11 knots, she has a range of 5,000 nautical miles.
The owner, an experienced yachtsman, was heavily involved in the project build and advised the yard on the need for generous space for crew as well as owner and guests, with maximum silence and build standards.
The yacht launched in January 2020 and was delivered in Viareggio in July 2020. She is considered to be a contemporary take on a Benetti’s traditional classic style.
Says Diaugo, “It all began in December 2018 when the construction contract was signed. Along with the captain, I attended shipyard meetings to source any problems and give the owner’s opinions and ideas. Benetti are very professional and it was a positive experience.”
Covid of course halted the build process in 2020, but not for long, and the yacht was delivered only shortly after schedule that July.
Diaugo is particularly impressed by the natural light inside the boat and the volume. “She feels like a 50m, not a 44m,” she says. “She’s like a daughter to me. I love everything about her. Every place you go, you find particular things, special materials. You know, on board yachts, people are always getting bruises from sharp corners when the boat is moving. But the owner and his family decided to have all corners rounded off. There are no sharp edges onboard!”
Crew and guest flows are devised to ensure maximum privacy. The 102sqm sun deck offers dining, lounging and sunbathing areas. Other features include a pool on the upper deck bow and an expansive 60m full-beam owner’s apartment in the bow on the main deck. In the central section of the deck, the day area is furnished exclusively with a series of sofas and low tables.
Now with that project under her belt and constant beady eye, Volga Diaugo is working on the construction of a 76’ sailing yacht by CNB shipyard, due for delivery at the beginning of 2022.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
In Minsk, the capital of Belarus. I moved to Italy in 2005.
A happy memory?
Going to football matches with my father. I remember standing in the rain at the 1982 Russian Championships. I was six and I was happy.
If you weren’t an owner representative, what would you be?
This is my dream job. I trained as a physical education teacher and I have a degree in psychology. Both are useful now, for jumping through hoops.
Your advice to someone looking for a career like yours?
Be honest, and you have to know every single aspect of the job in case the owner asks you. I had a great captain who taught me that whatever I am asked, the answer is always “Yes”. And if it is not “Yes” today, it is “Yes” for tomorrow.
A difficult part of your job?
Never enough sleep. If you are not sleeping, you are always thinking of the next thing. Last year I did 60,000 km in my car – meetings with shipyards etc. – all over Italy.
The best part of your job?
Seeing the owner happy.
Of what are you most proud?
Moving to Italy. It was a decision that changed my life. I started from zero and did not speak a word of Italian.
A favourite meal?
Any Italian cooked fish. I love all Italian food.
A figure you admire?
Captain Heins Krodel, my first Captain on MY ZoomZoomZoom.
A favourite place or restaurant in Monaco?
Cipriani.
Joining him was seasoned space veteran Nicole Stott, who has spent a total of 104 days in space and is the 10th woman ever to perform a spacewalk. She also is notably the first person ever to have painted a watercolour whilst orbiting the planet. Stott’s pursuits have also taken her underwater where she was part of NASA’s Aquanaut team on the Aquarius undersea lab, undertaking an 18-day mission to explore the depths of the oceans. 
Click on the images below to see more highlights…
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had a rollercoaster of a race at the Russian Grand Prix, with pole position somewhere near the back end of beyond, treacherous rains, and an inability to change tyres during an early pit stop all putting him at a distinct disadvantage.
Charles Leclerc had a tricky time in Sochi on Sunday. Already starting from the rear of the pack due to grid penalties handed out as a result of replacing his old power unit with a new one, he then managed to claw his way up to fourth, only to fall again, ending the race in a disappointing 15th place.
Leclerc’s trouble began when the rain started to fall during the race. He was unable to make an early pit stop to change to intermediate tyres, which would have been more appropriate for the conditions, due to his Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, already being in the pit. When the rain became too heavy, he was forced to come in, losing valuable time.
“It started to rain quite a bit at one point and we were very, very competitive in those conditions,” Leclerc said after the race. “The second and last sector, the third sector especially, was dry. So, I think what we were losing in the first and second with a bit of rain, we were gaining in the last one, so I decided to stay out.
“Then there was one lap where I doubted it but Carlos was just in front of me and was meant to stop that lap so I couldn’t stop at the same time. And then the lap after it was already too late. Then at that point, I knew my race was already compromised, so I tried to stay on slicks, hoping that the rain decreased, which didn’t happen.
“So, I’m disappointed with a race like this because obviously the first part was looking extremely good, some very good overtaking, some very good pace, and to finish 15th like this hurts.”
The weekend was not a complete disaster though, as teammate Sainz had a third-place podium win, giving his team a 15-point boost.
The new engine also seemed to be a good thing with Leclerc saying, “I feel that it is a little bit better, which is great. And obviously the data confirms it, so yes, it’s great to feel it and to see it.”
In the end, the top spot went to the struggling World Champ Lewis Hamilton with Max Verstappen in second.
Next up is the Turkish Grand Prix on 10th October where Leclerc can put his new engine to the test from, hopefully, a better pole position and in better conditions.
Photo of Charles Leclerc, source Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
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