Julian Hoeke — your personal yacht broker on Mallorca

I did not grow up around yachts. I grew up in Wuppertal, finished business school, and started my working life about as far from the Mediterranean as you can get — an apprenticeship as a retail salesman in a hardware store, a year selling cars, then six years in a specialist tool trade. I learned how to sell, and I learned how to listen to a customer. But with time it became clear that I wanted more from life.

The idea that would change everything came on holiday on Mallorca. I realised the people around me were not on permanent vacation — they worked, lived ordinary days, and were surrounded by an extraordinary quality of life. Mallorca was not a destination; it was a place you could live. On that same trip I missed my flight home to Germany. For most people that is an annoyance. For me it felt like a sign — and back home, one thought would not let go: I wanted to live on this island for at least a year.

What I would do there I did not yet know — real estate, perhaps, or security systems. Then, visiting a friend in the Netherlands, he took me out on his boat: a small tender with all of four horsepower. At some point he asked whether I wanted to take the helm. The first time I pushed the throttle forward and felt the boat accelerate, I knew, instantly and without doubt — I want to sell yachts. From that moment I had a clear goal.

To reach it I moved into industrial sales and spent three years with a Dutch manufacturer on roofing and industrial projects across North Rhine-Westphalia. The plan was simple: save money, learn Spanish, prepare. Then the pandemic cost me a further year — but postponed is not abandoned. In 2021 I handed in my notice, gave up my flat, sold almost everything I owned, and stepped into the unknown. In October 2021 I arrived on Mallorca with one goal: to become a yacht broker.

I work exclusively to the MYBA standard contract (Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association) — on both the charter and the sale side. In the Mediterranean, MYBA contracts are the industry standard for yachts above 24 metres; they govern escrow, APA reconciliation, handover inventory, crew duties and liability allocation in a form that holds up in any Mediterranean court. I hold every transaction to that same documentary standard on the Spanish side, including when a charter contract crosses French or Italian tax jurisdiction.

What does that mean for you in practice? On every sale you receive a contract that Burgess, Edmiston or Camper & Nicholsons would also sign. On every charter, an APA reconciliation that holds up against a refund claim. On every survey, an attendance by someone who speaks the surveyor's language — not just the final report. None of this is a personal achievement; it is the industry baseline. What you should check, however: not everyone calling themselves a "yacht broker" on Mallorca actually works to that standard.

When the major house is the better call

If your search is for a superyacht above 50 metres with global charter presence — where breadth of inventory matters above all — a house like Burgess or Edmiston with their worldwide listings and 200-person teams has the structural advantage. If you are looking for an 80s classic where the international resale market is what determines value, Camper & Nicholsons, with their 240-year database, can reach sources I cannot. If you need physical crew selection at the top-tier charter shows (Monaco Yacht Show, MYBA Charter Show), Ocean Independence is there every year — I am not.

When I am the better call

If your yacht will be based or chartered on Mallorca — and especially if you are a UK or Northern European buyer working remotely on a Spanish-flagged transaction — the comparison reverses. With me, your call lands directly; with Burgess, you reach a sales coordinator first, then a senior broker, then the regional specialist. With me, the survey is attended by the same person who recommended the yacht. With me, the harbour master knows your name before you first dock — because I use his first name, and he knows whose favour he is doing. None of this is romantic; it is commercially relevant. On a yacht in the £1–5M band, a single berth held open by relationship is worth several thousand pounds a year.

A note on Brexit and cross-border ownership

Since 2021, UK-flagged yachts kept in EU waters have lived under a different regime — VAT-paid status, Temporary Admission limits, Matriculación if the boat is used commercially, and a more visible customs profile on each entry. Most UK buyers I work with end up choosing one of two structures: Spanish-flagged ownership through an EU vehicle (cleaner for full-time Mallorca berthing), or Red Ensign flag with a managed TA programme (cleaner if you want flexibility to move the boat to Croatia, Greece or Türkiye on a schedule). Neither is universally right — the choice turns on your use pattern, your tax residency and your charter intentions. I walk every UK buyer through both options before we narrow.

What my clients say

My buyers and charter clients are predominantly German, Austrian and Swiss, with a growing share from the UK, Netherlands and Belgium. Many come back — they charter again, or send a friend, because the first transaction worked. On Google there are currently 11 reviews averaging 5.0 / 5 (as of May 2026); you can read the originals via the Google link below. Testimonials do not replace an E-E-A-T audit, but they are what I trust above any window-dressing.