Sanlorenzo - Italian luxury yacht builder gliding past its competitors

The global yachting market is thriving, with high-net-worth individuals showing clear sign of increasing their spending. Overall, the market for yachts was estimated at $64.1 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $84.7 billion by 2027. This is good news for Italy, which accounts for the production of more than half of all yachts over 24 meters in length, both in operation and those currently being built worldwide.

Located between the Italian regions of Liguria and Tuscany, cradle of a longstanding nautical district, Sanlorenzo is one of the leading companies in the world when it comes to high-end yachts; the shipbuilder was the second largest in the world in 2020 (first as mono-brand) in terms of number of active projects and combined length of boats over 24 meters being built.

“Yachting in the last 10 years has changed completely, says Massimo Perotti, Sanlorenzo's chairman and CEO. “This business is very much related to the excellence of Italians. It's a microcosm that is doing really well, is well organized, with artisan touch, history, style and Italian design, he adds.

Perotti spent over two decades working at Azimut-Benetti, another Italian shipbuilder, before seizing the opportunity to acquire Sanlorenzo in 2005. At the time, Sanlorenzo's revenue was €42 million, relatively small for the industry. From 2005 to 2020 we grew the company more than tenfold, and we are expecting revenue exceeding €570 million in 2021, he says.

By focusing on yachts of more than 20 meters, Sanlorenzo has been largely insulated from any financial impact of the pandemic, with its clients wealthy enough that one bad year isn't going to make them cancel or pull back from an order. In fact, 2021 has been Sanlorenzo's best year to date, with the company now eyeing growth opportunities and looking at potential acquisitions both domestically and overseas.