With the 2024 Monaco Yacht Show well underway, Monaco Life Editor in Chief Cassandra Tanti catches up with Jamie Edmiston, CEO of leading yacht brokerage company Edmiston, to talk about his formula for success, what the ultra rich are into nowadays, and what challenges lie ahead for this fast growing industry.
Jamie Edmiston is the CEO of Edmiston, one of the world’s leading yacht brokerage firms, known for its expertise in the sale, charter, and management of luxury super yachts.
With a deep-rooted family legacy in the industry, Jamie has built a reputation for steering the company toward growth and innovation. His leadership has seen Monaco-based Edmiston take a prominent position in the global yachting market, particularly in the large superyacht and sailing yacht sectors, where the company excels in delivering top-tier service and sustainable advancements.
You can listen to the Podcast interview or read on for the transcript…
Monaco Life:
Monaco Life: Let’s kick off the interview with perhaps the most impressive super yacht on your books, Oceanco’s 105m H3, which is the world’s most expensive yacht for sale at €295 million. What makes H3 stand out from other superyachts on the market – apart from the price?
Jamie Edmiston: H3 is an extraordinary yacht. She comes from one of the world’s leading shipyards, Oceanco, and has a stunning interior designed by Reymond Langton. They’ve done an exceptional job with her. She has 10 cabins, which is quite rare even for large yachts, offering extensive accommodation. One of the standout features is a fantastic VVIP cabin, which is on par with the owner’s cabin. It’s located at the aft, and the design throughout is exceptional. She’s a beautiful boat, ticking all the boxes, and definitely one of the most remarkable yachts on the market today.
Let’s talk about Wayfinder, the 68-metre catamaran support vessel. It offers unique features like a helipad that doubles as a pickleball court. How does this vessel appeal to today’s luxury yacht clients?
Wayfinder is a vessel I know well, as I was involved from its conception. It’s the ultimate support yacht, designed to provide high levels of support to the mothership it accompanies. It’s fast, allowing it to cover large distances quickly, which is key for positioning around the world. It also accommodates a full-time crew and 12 additional staff for security, aviation, or diving. It has a helipad that doubles as a pickleball court, and can carry large helicopters. It’s an outstanding example of a support yacht, essential for the growing number of large yachts today.
The Monaco Yacht Show always draws a high-profile crowd. How does Edmiston leverage this event to solidify its reputation?
The Monaco Yacht Show is, in my view, the most important show in the world. It’s focused and geographically compact, allowing easy access to the largest and most important yachts, both new builds and those in the brokerage market. It gives us, particularly those focused on large yachts, a great opportunity to showcase our products to visiting clients and engage with industry colleagues. Monaco is exclusively focused on large yachts and related luxury products, making it the ideal platform for us. We’re based here, with a large team, so this show is a key event for us.
Fidelis, Olympus, and Spirit are some of the iconic yachts in Edmiston’s lineup. How do you create such a diverse portfolio to appeal to different clientele?
Ultimately, our job is to sell boats, so when owners ask us to sell theirs, we assess whether it fits our client base. For example, Fidelis is a stunning Perini Navi, and we have clients who specifically seek that kind of yacht. We have a very experienced sailing yacht division, so we’re likely to be the first call for anyone selling a large sailing yacht.
Spirit is a fantastic Amels yacht, and Amels has been highly successful in building semi-custom yachts. Then you have Olympus, a beautiful classic yacht with a rich history, meticulously maintained and a great opportunity for someone looking for a pedigree yacht at a competitive price.
The Monaco Yacht Show is often about more than just yachts. How do you see this event shaping the future of luxury and superyacht culture?
The Monaco Yacht Show brings together leaders from across the industry. Everyone involved in the large yacht business is here—shipyard owners, brokers, designers, and support companies. It’s a place where business gets done, ideas are exchanged, and trends are set. While selling yachts is a big part of it, the show also offers a glimpse into the broader luxury market. You can see what ultra-premium customers are interested in, gauge market activity, and witness the unveiling of new technologies and innovations.
Edmiston has already surpassed €1 billion in sales this year. What factors do you think contributed most to this impressive milestone?
Our primary goal is to sell yachts, and we have an exceptional team that excels at it. Selling large yachts boosts our sales figures quickly, and we’re known for handling very large yachts. A few quick sales of such yachts can significantly increase our total sales. We also have a diverse team of brokers from various nationalities and backgrounds, which broadens our reach. Combined with a bit of luck, we’ve had a great few years and are now in a strong position within the industry.
With a 30% market share in yachts over 45 metres, how does Edmiston ensure it remains a leader in the superyacht industry?
It’s never an exact science. Sometimes you lead the industry, and other times you don’t. Right now, we’re in a strong position, and our focus is to keep doing what we do best—selling yachts at the best possible price in the shortest time frame. Performance is key. If you consistently perform well, clients will come to you. That’s how we’ve maintained our leadership position, and we hope to continue doing so.
Edmiston will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2026. What do you envision for the company’s future over the next five years?
The yachting industry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years, becoming highly professional. We’ve played a role in creating that professional marketplace. Looking ahead, I don’t think what we do will change drastically—our core business of marketing and selling yachts will remain. However, how we do it may evolve, with new technologies and yacht designs playing a part. Sustainability will also be a big factor, but fundamentally, our mission will stay the same.
Speaking of sustainability, Edmiston has focused on innovation and sustainability. Can you share more about your collaboration with Levidian Nano Systems and its impact on the industry?
Sustainability is something the entire industry takes seriously. We’re all mindful that for the yachting business to remain relevant, successful, and accepted in the future, everyone needs to contribute to driving forward innovations and technologies that make the industry greener. Leading brokerage houses, shipyards, designers, engineers, and naval architects all share this common goal. It’s a journey that will take time—these changes can’t happen overnight. However, I’m optimistic that as an industry, we will continue to lead the way.
If you look at the global shipping industry, the contributions from the yachting sector are significant and often underappreciated. We have owners, shipyards, and designers investing in developing advanced, sustainable technologies, and clients who are equally committed. All of this ensures that the yachting industry will play a key role in delivering greener solutions.
We’re seeing new technologies emerge, like hydrogen and methanol power systems, and I believe this will continue. As for Levidian, it’s a climate technology company I’m personally involved with as an investor and chairman. They’ve developed incredible technology that converts methane—one of the worst greenhouse gases—into hydrogen. We collaborate with Levidian to raise awareness and to offset our emissions at the Yacht Show, helping us work towards a NetZero goal.
With the rise of environmental concerns, are there any new sustainable technologies or designs that Edmiston is promoting in its yacht sales and charters?
We’re currently selling a yacht that will be delivered soon in Holland, featuring a hydrogen power cell system. This is one of the greenest yachts ever built, with the owner committed to using the latest technology to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. It’s the first hydrogen-powered yacht, and we’ve worked closely with Royal Van Lent, Feadship, and RWD designers to bring this project to life. It’s an exciting step forward in sustainable yachting.
Looking to the future, what challenges do you foresee in the yachting industry, and how is Edmiston preparing to address them?
One of the challenges we face is finding enough space to berth all these yachts. There are many large vessels being built in leading shipyards, especially in Northern Europe and Italy, which are delivering a significant number of new yachts. A legitimate concern is where all these yachts will be docked. Beyond that, another challenge is ensuring these boats are environmentally conscious and culturally accepted.
There’s often a misunderstanding about the yacht business, particularly in tabloids where large yachts are often portrayed as symbols of excess. But a yacht employs thousands of people throughout its life cycle, from engineers, plumbers, electricians, and technicians involved in its construction, to the crew required to operate it. Once in use, a yacht buys goods, services, fuel, and supplies, supporting vendors and local economies wherever it operates. Yachts also require maintenance, refits, and repainting, contributing further to the economy.
In regions like the South of France, yachting is a vital part of the local economy. I believe the yacht industry will remain relevant as long as it continues to evolve, and based on what I’m seeing and hearing, I’m confident that it will.
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Main photo source: Edmiston