Following the announcement of a strategic joint venture between US-based brokerage Denison Yachting and Dubai-based brokerage OceanWorld Group, BOAT sits down with Bryan Braley, president of Denison Yachting, and Lydia Pascarelli, CEO of OceanWorld Group, to discuss what the partnership means for clients, brokers and the future of international yachting.
OceanWorld Group and Denison Yachting have announced a strategic joint venture to establish a comprehensive international yachting platform spanning three of the world's most significant yachting regions: the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
The partnership sees OceanWorld Group as the majority shareholder. It brings together the company's expanding network across Europe and the Middle East with Denison Yachting's 75-year heritage in the US market, spanning yacht sales, brokerage, charter, new construction and client services.
The new joint venture between two industry power players aims to create what the companies describe as an unprecedented level of connectivity between these key yachting destinations, providing clients, yacht owners, shipyards, brokers and industry partners with seamless access to a broader international network and facilitating movement between markets across multiple regions.
How the partnership came together
The seeds of the partnership were sown over a year ago. Both organisations were working in similar areas of the industry, collaborating with the same dealerships, and it quickly became apparent that their strengths were complementary. "There's a lot of mutual respect and mutual vision, and we very much had a similar growth plan - not only for the respective territories that we work in, but also globally and how there could be better efficiencies," says Pascarelli.
As Braley explains, customer experience is at the heart of the strategy: "Customer experience will grow the business. Customer experience will let us scale to where we want to scale. But nothing happens if we can't offer fantastic service to our customers and through our brokers."
Meeting demand for international charter
The announcement comes as the global yachting industry experiences increasing interconnectivity, with clients and yacht owners operating across multiple regions. The alliance positions both companies to capitalise on this trend.
One of the most significant trends the partnership is designed to address is the demand for international charter itineraries. "In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), charter is very popular, but the charter is traditionally in Europe. Same with the United States. All the high-wealth customers want to charter, but everyone wants to charter in Europe. So it's a natural fit to have a presence in all three areas," says Braley.
Pascarelli points to the development of new yachting infrastructure in the Middle East as another driver. "With the growth of the Red Sea project and the development that Saudi is investing heavily in — in Jeddah with the yacht clubs and everything — still historically, a lot of those clients will use their boats locally, but they all charter in the Med during the hot months. So, without that seamless experience for them, we lose a lot of business. Collaboration is pushing us into the growth that we need."
She also highlights the role of technology and AI in shaping the future of the industry: "We have a lot of exciting ideas on how we can bring those tools to better support our brokers, support the clients and grow the business at an exponential rate."
Investing in talent development and broker support
For brokers, the partnership represents a significant expansion of reach and resources. By operating under a unified platform, brokers gain access to markets that would have been difficult or impossible to serve independently. "It's further touch, further reach. They can be in markets that we could never be in by ourselves. Jointly, we can be in all of them and be very strong in all of them,” says Braley.
Both organisations have stressed that the new partnership will prioritise talent development and team growth, with the venture designed to create new opportunities for team members while maintaining the high level of service that has defined both brands.
"I think the broker's bread and butter is leads, and allowing them to have the tools that they need, investing in those tools, investing in them, in their training, in their connections, in their networking and in travel. Giving them opportunities to operate wherever the clients are is a huge benefit for them, and it's definitely something that draws top-tier brokers to a company or an organisation," says Pascarelli. "It's about supporting them, not only financially but with good teams to work with, good leadership, good management and bigger opportunities. On both sides, the shareholders don't believe in investing in companies. They invest in people and they invest in talent and that's really what's going to push this business forward."
Braley points to the advantages of scale when it comes to marketing. “It’s about being able to scale and touch and grow in these markets at a much faster pace than by ourselves. It would take us years to get to where we’re going to be in a month. Bigger isn’t always better, but in the case of what we’re doing and how we’re trying to do this, it is. So we couldn’t be more excited,” he says.
"What's exciting for me is that we'll be able to reach a lot of underserved territories where there's huge potential for yachting and the clients, especially in the GCC,” Pascarelli adds. “By having a strong global presence, we can actually allow them to enjoy their home territories with the same quality of service and experience that they would have in the Med. That's very exciting because we'll be part of that growth.”
To find out more about the partnership, contact OceanWorld Group or Denison Yachting.
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