Florida-headquartered Technomarine Group is set to expand its international operations with entry into the yacht brokerage market through a takeover of the Freedom Marine Group, Superyacht Business‘ sister tittle IBI reports.
Freedom Marine is a boutique brokerage house that is now named Technomarine Yachts, which will complement the long-established marina dock manufacturer.
Dennis Close, founder of Freedom and now president of Technomarine Yachts and a managing partner of the Technomarine Group, explained: “The takeover of Freedom will give the new grouping a second stream of business in new-build and brokerage services to complement the well-established marina dock manufacturing activities.
“We have a sales office in Sarasota and we will have one at the Technomarine office in the Old Port Cove Marina in North Palm Beach. We are also planning to open an office in Panama where we have had an agent. The plan is to expand the brokerage business internationally and open in Europe at some point in the future.”
Close indicated that Freedom’s business has been around 60% brokerage and 40% new builds. The company is also able to provide yacht management and other related services.
Prior to setting up Freedom, Close worked with Rybovich, Cabo Yachts and the Brunswick group. He said in a press event at the Palm Beach Boat Show that his role will be to “bring the industry connections and strong reputation of Freedom Marine to a group like Technomarine is a strong move toward developing one of the world’s premier yacht brokerage and charter operations.”
Commenting on the Palm Beach Boat Show, Close said: “We had a lot of interest both on the brokerage and marina sides. The marina guys received much more response from visitors than they expected.”
Technomarine Yachts, as part of its expansion, is also looking to represent yacht brands. “We spoke with a number of brands that were looking for dealers and we will be following these up,” said Close.
Technomarine Group is a leader in the provision of marina dock systems worldwide and has operated in this market for 35 years. It has provided dockage for marinas in the US, particularly Florida, as well as Canada, the Middle East and Asia, including Hong Kong and Japan. The group has its head office and manufacturing plant in Repertigney, Quebec.
Source : www.superyachtbusiness.net/news/technomarine-acquires-yacht-brokerage-firm-6283#yQEH1w8MhWOxkL7r.99
