Megayachts Alive and Well in Barcelona, Spain

Saint-Tropez, Cannes, and Monte Carlo have long been home to some of the most luxurious yachts of the Mediterranean. But when choosing a berth that meets the needs of a yacht as large as 80 meters long, there is more to the decision than the glitz and the glamor surrounding a port.

At a time when marinas are competing for berth sales amid falling prices, the success of Vilanova Grand Marina in Barcelona, Spain, the first megayacht marina of its kind specifically conceived for such 260′ superyachts, underscores the growing importance of Spain as an off-season location and the growth of Barcelona as the hub for luxury yachts in the Med.

Located in Vilanova i la Geltrú, a small town about a 35-minute drive outside Barcelona, the marina is one of the most advanced of its kind and has been promoting its facilities, services and strategic location for the growing number of megayachts returning from the Caribbean to prepare for the summer months in the Mediterranean.

“We can’t compare ourselves to other marinas, some of which were constructed at a time when yachts of these sizes didn’t even exist,” said Ignacio Erroz, the director of Vilanova Grand Marina. “We were conceived from the very beginning as a technical port designed entirely to meet the needs of superyachts. No other marina has the type of specialization that we offer.”

The marina, whose 49 moorings accommodate megayachts stretching from 25 to 80 meters, announced in December that it had started operating the first phase of its technical area, an 8,000-square-meter (85,000-square-foot), area offering services like paint work, repairs, maintenance and dry docking. The marina also features a Cimolai 200-ton boat/travel lift.

With the second phase of the project set to see the construction of 2 painting sheds, a 300-meter waiting dock, and an esplanade with an 800-ton boat/travel lift, the technical area will occupy a total area of 30,000 square meters.

Apart from its technical capacity, the megayacht marina has sought to provide hospitality services for its elite customer base. The marina contracted BWA Yachting, the worldwide yacht services agency, to provide a range of concierge services, including customs and immigration procedures, banking transactions, itinerary planning and jet or helicopter rentals.

After 20 months of operation, the marina recently announced it had reached €12.5 million in sales, representing 50% of the water surface sold, and called itself an international reference point in the superyacht industry.

While Vilanova Grand Marina is near the Catalan capital, it is just one of the marinas in the Barcelona region to cater increasingly to megayachts, making the city a growing locale in the high end of the yachting sector.

“Barcelona itself has always been sort of an ‘almost’ hub,” said Tim Thomas, the deputy editor at Boat International. “Port Barcelona is quite popular with visiting superyachts and you are right in the heart of downtown.”

Marina Barcelona ‘92, one of the most popular marinas in the Port of Barcelona, recently announced a plan over the next three years to expand its facilities and more than double the berthing area, from 32,000 square meters to 76,000 square meters.

“It will turn the MB92 into an absolutely massive and quite possibly the largest yard in the world,” said Mr. Thomas, referring to Marina Barcelona ’92. “That may very well have an influence in drawing superyachts to Barcelona.”

But as new marinas like Vilanova Grand appear and others expand, experts and brokers say legal problems in the past have complicated mooring in Spain and left a lasting mark.

“There are certain taxes that make Spain a very tricky place to be,” Mr. Thomas said.

Among these was a recent fight against Spain’s Ley de Costas, or Law of the Coast, a law intended to keep developers from building properties too close to the beaches, but whose vague wording began to cause concession periods, the ownership period of marina berths, to be cut drastically short, causing a profound effect on their values.

“We battled with the Spanish government for over a year to get this law repealed and finally succeeded, but it proved extremely damaging to the whole marina industry,” said John Brewster, director of Genus Marine & Leisure, a leading marine berth broker based in Britain.

Mr. Brewster, who says his company has also seen problems with matriculation taxes on foreign berth owners in Spain, fears there could still be more problems for those seeking a berth in the country.

“Prior to last year, the Spanish government used to apply a 7% VAT when someone bought a berth,” he explained. “They decided late last year, that berths are not a property like a house and have raised the tax to 18%, further decreasing the demand throughout Spain.”

But Erroz says Vilanova Grand has not been affected by any of these problems and he is content with the marina’s success.

“We are happy with the acceptance our project has received in our sector,” he said. “It is the results of the quality of our facilities, our services and our privileged location.”

Source: K. McTighe, New York Times

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