There have been many attempts to launch shared ownership into the world of superyachting by everything from timeshare to fractional ownership, but Yachtmarketing Limited, who are behind the new ‘Curvelle’ luxury power ‘Super-Catamaran’, have taken a fresh approach (see the FAQs panel). Before exploring the benefits of the syndicate ownership programme let us look at the perfect superyacht to deliver this new approach.

First in the series, the Curvelle ‘quaranta’

The vision is fast taking shape at the Curvelle shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul and on time for completion in early 2013. The first in a series, quaranta is a luxury superyacht that, as a catamaran, is more stable, cost effective to run, more spacious, more environmentally friendly, faster than a monohull yacht with the same engine power and above all extremely stylish. Everything about the quaranta is carefully thought out, maximising the deck spaces and the internal volume. Unusually large windows fill the guest cabins with light and the unique flexible accommodation areas can transform the yacht for each cruise or mix of guests. Take a ‘Curvelle quaranta virtual tour’ .
For more information on the Curvelle ‘quaranta’ see a specification

Flexible accommodation is the key for syndicate ownership

With a clean sheet of paper and a very clear set of business objectives, the Curvelle project began. First came the yacht design and importantly the configuration. It had to be roomy, fast, efficient and compact and deliver to its owners a truly luxurious yacht at an impressive price point. With syndicate ownership there is an optimum number of part owners that can take maximum advantage of the windows of operational time. This number is seven syndicate shares for a year-round, Mediterranean-plus-Caribbean operation. After careful market research into the overall costings for the syndicate operation, the figures settled on a syndicate share marketed at €1.4m each. This sum is equivalent to buying a typical new VAT paid and equipped 55ft motor cruiser. For the same cost a Curvelle syndicate participant can enjoy luxury yachting in a 33.7m superyacht and being a catamaran it is as big as a 40m performance monohull.

Curvelle quaranta swim/beach/tender platform

One of the smart features is the way the accommodation can be easily configured for each syndicate user. The two hulls create a wide platform for the four decks and the whole interior is very comparable to a 40-42m monohull especially if you look at the flexible accommodation on the main deck, something you will not find on any other 40m yacht. The twin hulls create a massive swim platform not found on yachts the size of the ‘quaranta’. When it is raised it is the tender deck and when lowered it becomes the beach club. It is big enough for a small submarine and perfect for easy wheelchair access.
The six generously sized double cabins can be re-configured into three VIP suites or more than twenty other combinations, with just a few hours notice for the crew. These main-deck cabins allow for huge windows, each 2.75m long and almost one metre high, making each cabin a virtual day-time suite if you want some personal time.

Curvelle quaranta panoramic cabin views

One of the key selling features of the ‘quaranta’ is the exceptionally large windows, see for yourself in the virtual tour (see link above). Unusually large for a 34m yacht, the RINA classification for the windows allows Atlantic passages with paying guests as opposed to a restriction to 50nm from the coast.

More information on the syndicate ownership scheme

FAQs

So what is syndicate ownership?
Let’s start with what it is not.

Not Timeshare:

In simple terms ‘timeshare’ is exactly that. You buy some time entitlement to a proposition. You have no ownership of assets or equity and are making a payment in advance for rental of asset units.

Not Fractional Ownership:

Fractional companies run schemes where the investor purchases a share in an asset that remains within the fractional organisation which then determines how an asset is used. The fractional owner has a relationship solely with the fractional company. Fractional companies are a for-profit operation.

Syndicate Ownership:

In the case of Curvelle Syndicate Ownership, the Syndicate yachts are ready prepared for syndicate purchasing and operation. Individual syndicate owners own an equal share in each yacht and determine how it will be used. The primary relationship in the syndicate is with the other owners. The syndicate is fully portable but can use the services and support of Yachtmarketing Ltd as required.

Everyone knows that keeping a yacht going is expensive – and a super-yacht is super-expensive.  Keeping a yacht with 6 crew on year-round, transatlantic cruising availability is something which was available only to the super-rich.  But Curvelle’s newly developed “fractional syndicate” ownership model makes it accessible to many more people, by relating what an owner pays for running expenses directly to the use they actually make of the yacht.

More high season use costs more. Less use, or off season = less cost. But in any case, it’s only a fraction of the total.

The owners are members of a private syndicate that owns the yacht, so can obviously split both the initial purchase and running costs between them.  But individuals have different needs and desires, not just to each other but personally from year to year.  A Curvelle syndicate starts with a budget for the actual cost of running the yacht which is known to every member, just as an individual owner knows his boat’s costs.  A pre-agreed formula distributes costs to owners, with some costs fixed according to shareholding in the syndicate, and others according to usage. Low users also see their costs fall as any otherwise unused time may be chartered out.

The result – super-yacht cruising that gives the best of all worlds.  Typical costs for ownership of a super-yacht fall to those of a self-catered motor cruiser, and are way below that of chartering equivalent cruising vacation time.

With of freedom of choice of over your personal schedule and division of the big numbers between all the partners, a Curvelle syndicate member has an unparalleled combination of maximum owner benefits, and costs that are both predictable and controllable.  Curvelle shrank the cost of super-yachting – not the enjoyment!

Essentially, it’s a refined form of the long-established fractional ownership model, but with a twist. It’s designed entirely from the perspective of the buyer, rather than as a way of maximising sales revenue by subdividing the sale of a costly asset like a super-yacht. The key difference lies in setting up an owners syndicate for each yacht that is legally independent of Curvelle – or any other business.

What’s the overwhelming advantage of a fractional syndicate for large yacht ownership? LEVERAGE.  You work hard for your money. Today, with minimal investment returns and shrinking margins, your money needs to work even harder to provide you and your family with the hard-earned relaxation you deserve. That’s where the leveraging power of a syndicate comes into its own. With Curvelle, you combine the buying power of eight shareholders with a syndicate agreement specifically drawn up to maximise your personal freedom of control and usage. You own a yacht with a far higher specification than you would otherwise obtain at the same cost, eliminate ownership chores, get the usage you personally want, and retain the same control as you’d have with a smaller boat on your own.

Leverage your capital outlay – get far more yacht for your money. Imagine eight people each spending a million Euros on an 18 metre motor yacht. Each of those 8 yachts will probably be left in a marina most of the time – maybe as much as 50 weeks a year. But for the same total capital, together the eight can buy a Curvelle super-yacht. Each individual 18m. yacht will have comfortable berths for maybe 6 people, and possibly a couple of bunk spaces. A Curvelle has 6 double staterooms for 12 guests, plus below-decks accommodation for 6 crew. If you double the length of a conventional boat you get about 4 times the deck spaces. Add decks and you double it again each time. Because Curvelle is a catamaran, its guest spaces go up fast  – our 33m catamaran has 4 decks and is roughly equivalent to a 40m mono-hull.  So the ratio of space from an individual-owned 18m. yacht to a syndicate-owned Curvelle is typically between six and eight to one. Eight times the space for the same capital? That can’t be bad. Alternatively, you might be in a position to order a super-yacht outright. To accommodate 12 guests in 6 full staterooms and have a maximum cruising speed of 25 knots will probably cost upwards of 16 million Euros, even in the current “buyer’s market”. In which case, wouldn’t putting 15 million of that to work elsewhere be useful? The same facilities, for only 7% of the investment? Now that’s real leverage!