The Refit Revolution Reshaping Superyachting

However, beneath these headline numbers lies a fundamental structural pivot. The world's wealth ecosystem is expanding. Personal wealth grew by 10% in 2025, while the global billionaire population expanded by 13.1% to exceed 3,300 individuals. Concurrently, the number of individuals holding between $50 million and $100 million grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3% between 2020 and 2025. As this new wave of capital enters the market, the economics of superyacht ownership are being rewritten around three core drivers: scale, velocity, and technical asset preservation.

One of the key figures at the center of this transformation is Toby Moore, CEO of Informa Prestige. In an exclusive interview with Luxury Tribune, he explains how he lead MYS’s milestone 35th edition, which took place at the end of September: "I use the word elevation, and what I mean by that is everything and every aspect of the show had to be elevated," Moore tells us, reflecting on his inaugural show at the helm. "I wanted it to be a better visit for people who come. I wanted it to be a much more sophisticated luxury lifestyle experience for our private visitors, the yacht clients, but also the exhibitors. All week, they spoke of a strong show, good quality conversations and serious buyers. My view is: this event has to be a marketplace for yacht projects, not a parade."

The 2026 Monaco Yacht Show fleet offered an extraordinary snapshot of high-value asset concentration. Featuring 118 superyachts, 50 of which were delivered in 2026, with a cumulative value estimated at €4.5 billion, the fleet averaged 47.5 meters in length and 679 gross tons (GT). World premieres included Lürssen’s 102.4-meter Nixie, Amels’ 80-meter Pangea, Sanlorenzo’s 73.4-meter Silver Fox, and the Riva 54 Metri Sairu, berthed alongside Oceanco’s 111-meter flagship Leviathan.

According to data from the BOATPro MYS Market Report 2026, the global new-build order book shows an industry recalibrating its capacity. The global total of superyacht projects over 24 meters under construction or on order stood at 1,093. While this represents a slight decline in pure unit numbers from 1,138 in 2025 and the peak of 1,203 in 2023, the total overall length under construction stands at a staggering 44,637 meters.

Average LOA under construction has climbed to 40.8 meters, while average volume reached 551 GT, an 8.7% surge in gross tonnage year-over-year. Italy remains the world’s leading builder nation with 568 projects (22,299m total LOA), followed by Turkey with 141 projects (6,315m LOA) and the Netherlands with 66 projects (4,341m LOA). Larger vessels are occupying more shipyard capacity: there are currently 67 vessels over 70 meters in build (compared to just 18 in 2006) and 26 mega-builds exceeding 100 meters.

This capacity constraint at major shipyards, where build slots are fully committed through 2028 and 2029, has triggered a historic surge in the pre-owned brokerage sector. In the first half of 2026, brokerage sales hit €4.05 billion across 281 transactions, eclipsing €3.61 billion (272 sales) in H1 2025 and €2.21 billion (225 sales) in H1 2024. The transaction highlights were led by Feadship's 100.7-meter Moonrise (asking €325M), the 89-meter Amels Mirage (asking €165M), and Feadship’s 66.3-meter Hampshire (asking €85M). Sales in the 50-to-70-meter segment jumped by an extraordinary 52.9% year-over-year.