Big Picture

Julia Stewart, Director of Imperial, explains how the Monaco-headquartered company has risen to manage some of the globe’s most spectacular superyachts and work so closely with the world’s leading builders.

- Nick Hung

Can you paint an overview of Imperial and how it has become associated with so many of the biggest superyacht projects?

We believe in a detail-orientated approach as we are handling legendary superyachts. We leave nothing to chance and supervise every detail. Our yachts are very popular choices for charter because of high service standards, safety without compromises and perfect technical condition.

Our Monaco office is the heart of our activity and we also have offices located at leading shipyards in Germany, Netherlands and Italy to supervise new builds and refits on a day-to-day basis to protect owners’ interests. We have large new build and operational teams managing over 1,000 crew members worldwide. In addition, we have skilled HR and in-house legal teams.

How has Imperial’s business changed in the last few years as you’ve become known for working with some of the world’s biggest new superyachts?

We have sold more new-build projects and are currently supervising constructions at major European yards. Imperial is doing more hulls in the 100m-plus segment because we have proven management expertise and the specialist knowledge to control budgets as well as deliver the best result for the owners.

Our delivered yachts speak for themselves. Imperial supervised construction and are Exclusive Central Charter Agents for Lana (Benetti 107m) and Flying Fox (Lürssen 136m). Furthermore, we are also experts in new construction such as Amadea (Lürssen 106.1m).

How would you rank the value of your various business divisions?

Imperial does not rely on one area of business, yet we have a firm core foundation based on the supervision of new builds and management, as well as strong sales and charter departments.