A yacht is rarely the most rational purchase. But it is one of the most consequential — both financially and in terms of how you'll spend the next decade of weekends. On Mallorca, the market is opaque enough and the regulatory landscape Spanish enough that even experienced buyers benefit from a local broker on their side. My role is straightforward: I represent your interests, not the seller's, and I do it from an office five minutes from Puerto Portals where I can see most of the listed yachts inside a morning.
I'm Julian Hoeke, a Mallorca-based yacht broker working primarily with DACH (German, Austrian, Swiss), UK and Dutch clients. The brokerage is single-broker by design — every inquiry comes to me directly, every contract is negotiated by me personally, every yacht in my listings I have walked through. This page sets out how I work for buyers and for sellers, the fee structure on each side, and the questions UK clients ask most often before committing.
Buyer's broker — representing you, not the seller
Most yacht transactions involve at least one broker — typically the seller's listing broker. If you walk into that transaction unrepresented, you negotiate against a professional whose fiduciary duty is to the other side. A buyer's broker fixes the asymmetry: my contract is with you, my fee is paid by you (or carved out of the seller's broker's commission on co-broker deals), and my work is to get you the right yacht at the right price under terms that protect you post-closing.
On a typical Mallorca purchase the work breaks into five phases. Briefing — defining what you actually want underneath the wish-list (use case, crew involvement, range, draft restrictions for your home port). Sourcing — combining the public listings with off-market and soft-listed yachts in my network. Inspection — I see each shortlisted yacht in person before you fly out, so your viewing trip is qualified, not exploratory. Survey and negotiation — independent surveyor, sea trial, written report, conditional offer based on findings. Closing and registration — Spanish flag paperwork, Matriculación tax decision (12% — substantial), VAT clarity, berth contract, insurance, handover with crew.
Fee structure: typically 1.5–2.5% of purchase price, paid by you. On co-broker transactions the seller's listing broker often splits commission and my fee is zero to you. I disclose this transparently before any specific yacht is recommended.
Seller's broker — getting the best result for your yacht
Selling a yacht is a different exercise. The work splits between presentation (photography, copy, listing across the right marketplaces), market positioning (where you sit on the price ladder versus comparables, what to lead with), and buyer flow management (inquiry triage, qualified viewings, offer negotiation). On Mallorca, the DACH-buyer segment is the dominant inflow — German and Austrian buyers searching for yachts already in the Mediterranean, often willing to pay a premium for a known maintenance history.
My seller-side workflow: free initial valuation against my private comparables database, photography brief and shoot (typically 4–6 hours per yacht), MYBA-conform listing copy in DE and EN, syndication across the European yacht marketplaces, viewing coordination on Mallorca, weekly status reports, offer negotiation, contract drafting, and closing logistics. Fee: typically 5–10% of sale price, payable at closing — no upfront cost, no marketing fee, no exclusivity penalty.
A broker who never inspects a yacht in person is a search engine with a phone number. The actual work happens at the boat.
When a Mallorca-based broker is the right choice
For very-high-value superyacht transactions (€10M+, 30m+), the international broker houses (Burgess, Edmiston, Camper & Nicholsons) bring scale, dedicated charter management, and a global pool of buyers that a local single-broker cannot match. For those transactions, my role is at best supplementary — local intelligence and Mallorca-side execution on the closing.
For yacht transactions in the €200k–€5M band, where the seller is often DACH-origin and the yacht is already stationed in Mallorca, the local broker model wins. Daily access to the marinas, same-day inspections, German-language alignment with the seller side, and lower fee structure all compound. This is the band where I work most often and where the value of representation is highest relative to the cost.
For sub-€200k transactions, a broker is rarely economical on either side — the fees consume too much of the transaction value. I'm happy to advise informally on this segment without engagement, particularly for UK buyers approaching the Mallorca market for the first time.
How to engage
Send a short brief: are you buying or selling, what yacht class, what budget or asking price, what timeline. I reply within 24 hours with an honest read on whether my representation is worth your fee for that specific transaction. If yes, we move into a written engagement letter — clear scope, clear fee structure, clear exit points. If not, I'll point you at the right alternative (an international house, a DIY route, or a different broker).
No retainer, no exclusivity required for buyer-side engagements. Seller-side listings are typically exclusive for 90 days minimum — this is industry standard and required so my marketing investment isn't undercut. All contracts are MYBA-conform, in English and German for transactions under 24 m, English-Spanish bilingual for larger.
— Julian Hoeke