With nearly 18 years at the yacht brokerage firm Fraser, an impressive record with the completion of over 70 yachts sales up to 100 metres in length and 40 years in the yachting sector, Antoine Larricq has an abundance of experience under his belt. The past 12 months have set records for his career, with the sale of the iconic 97.2-metre Carinthia VII last year, and the recent sale of the Amels 89-metre Here Comes The Sun. 
I never began my career with the idea or ambition to become a yacht broker. For me my focus was on the enjoyment and adventure of being at sea, the opportunity to travel and the freedom to explore. I worked on sailing yachts in my 20’s, later managing charter yacht fleets, and those experiences taught me the skills that I have continuously utilised throughout my career as a broker.
So many of the young brokers today have come directly from university or college and are attracted to the industry for the perception of luxury that it emits, but they are missing the deeper knowledge that can only be gained by spending time onboard. In my view, you have to go through the whole spectrum of life at sea; spending time with crew, understanding the complexities of life onboard, repairing and cleaning a vessel, working in a shipyard – it is this that gives you a depth of understanding and teaches you that yachting is a human industry.
The most successful brokers have an intimate knowledge of the way a yacht operates, and understand the value and importance of the crew. When a yacht is sold, crew contracts are discussed, renegotiated or terminated and that can be a very significant moment when it comes to the future operations of the vessel. Brokers need to know how to communicate with crew in order to properly evaluate and respect their needs, because this makes the biggest difference to the happiness of a yacht owner in the long term. 
We closed this sale in only 49 days from the moment my client stepped onboard – that is quite extraordinary. Part of the motivation for such a quick negotiation is that there are very few yachts of that calibre available on the market at this time and the buyer understood that we didn’t have time to wait.
It is also a milestone for my career, because I have been working with this client for 25 years and that is a relationship that began with me managing his 27-foot cigarette boat. I am extremely proud of the relationship I have built over the decades with that client, who understands the value of a loyal long term relationship with a broker.
You have a reputation for retaining clients and working with owners for decades, what do you think is the key to building close relationships and delivering exceptional service?
Long term clients are a key element for the success of all major brokers, particularly those operating in the 50-metre plus sector and generally we are aware of which broker represents which owners. Collaboration is a cornerstone of success and there is definitely an etiquette when it comes to superyacht brokerage; for example not approaching represented owners directly, but doing so through their broker.
Healthy relationships and respect between brokers and brokerage houses is absolutely essential for the success of the industry because we want owners to come away from a deal feeling like they got the best deal, and that it was a smooth experience. 
Carinthia VII truly offers something totally unique. The yacht has undergone a thoughtful and respectful refit at Lürssen, with a refreshed interior, redesigned decks and modernised mechanics and she has completed her 20 year class survey.
I had the pleasure to sail with her from Marseille to Nice following her recent survey and she is without a doubt one of the most spectacular yachts I've ever been onboard. We built a great relationship with her crew, and this intense refit period has been a challenge for them but we have carefully supported them through the process of preparing the yacht for showmode.
Her new owner has been ambitious with the work but has done a fantastic job and we were very excited to present the vessel to the charter market in September.
I remember speaking with shipyards in 2021 and they couldn’t believe the strength of the market, because they had been expecting a serious slowdown. Since then it has continued to strengthen and while things might be flattening, I think this show season will be very enlightening in regards to the state of the industry, but the reality is we cannot exist in a permanent boom. We have had a very good few years, far better than predicted and if the market begins to settle it will still be a busy and prosperous industry.
However, as an industry we have only scratched the surface of the potential of clients who could own a yacht. We touch a very small percentage of the people who can afford to own a yacht and that offers an opportunity to the industry even in a time of market slowdown.
After 40 years in the industry, what do you see as the most important developments in the sector?
Sustainability is the most important conversation that we are having today. I don't mean that with regards to the propulsion alone, I'm talking about the crew, the management, the construction, design – the entire life cycle and management of vessels. There has been a huge amount of wasted energy in the way yachts are built and run and there is a lot of progress being made, but I believe this will define the way the industry evolves over coming years – brokerage included.
We are also seeing a new generation of owners, with a different perspective on yachting and a different way of using their yachts. Even in the last few years we have seen owners spending more time onboard, which has led to an increased focus on noise pollution, security and connectivity.
I think we are at the beginning of the change towards a more sustainable future. Five years ago we heard nothing about sustainability, hydrogen or the individual developments that shipyards are making. This week alone we have seen Lürssen’s first superyacht Cosmos move to outfitting, the first vessel of her size to be fitted with fuel cells, and Feadship is making strides with its first hydrogen powered yacht. The change will be gradual but this will make the biggest change in our industry over the coming decades.
I would say it all starts with experience but intuition and education is incredibly important. Learning in this industry never ends, and as innovation and technology is changing every day, yacht brokers need to keep up to speed with all the latest developments in order to offer their clients the best service and advice.
I would also say that at the heart of the industry is the experience of yachting itself. There is a preoccupation with luxury in the sector today, but at its core, people buy yachts to enjoy the raw experience of yachting and an obsession with luxury will not help you build relationships.