Dream Yacht Group consolidates its shareholding and maintains its position as world leader
by Dream Yacht Group 30 Sep 2021 15:48 BST
Lagoon 55 © Groupe Beneteau
PPF Group, Central Europe's leading private financial group, and French Groupe Bénéteau, the world's leading boatbuilder, have finalized their investment into the capital of Dream Yacht Group through a joint venture providing €60 million in new equity (60% owned by PPF and 40% owned by Groupe Bénéteau).
Together, the two new shareholders will hold 87% of the capital. The remaining 13% is held by Loïc Bonnet, founder and CEO of Dream Yacht Group, the management and investment fund NextStage, which is reinvesting €2.6 millions euros, and the industrial company Fountaine-Pajot.
A consolidated financial position and reinforced strategy
With this injection of new funds, the Group's financial situation is now consolidated. The capital increase meets the financing needs set out in the business plan that supports the Group's long-term strategy, which aims to strengthen its position as a leader in the fast-expanding sector of nautical tourism, boat rental with or without crew and catamaran cruising.
Dream Yacht Group's model offers its clients the possibility to rent sailing boats in the most beautiful places in the world. This offer, which provides days and weeks of sailing, with or without a skipper, is a renewed success this summer, the beginning of post-Covid crisis recovery in a more appeased post-crisis environment. Bookings have broken records and occupancy rates have been at their highest level all season and remain so today.
In response to the popularity of the model that allows customers to "discover the most beautiful places on earth from the sea, with those you love" post-Covid, Dream Yacht Group is opening up new opportunities for the acquisition of sailing yachts, with private investors who wish to benefit from a system of ownership under rental management. More than 265 new sailboats, 100% French made (70% catamarans and 30% monohulls) could join Dream Yacht Group's fleet in the next two years.
The digitalization process of Dream Yacht Charter's websites and the fast-growing digital booking platform, SamBoat, which joined the group in 2018, is set to continue to accelerate international developments in paid services and sales.
Loïc Bonnet, CEO and founder of Dream Yacht Group, explains: "With the entry into our capital of two global players, that combine very high expertise in industry and finance, to the benefit of our strategy, Dream Yacht Group secures a solid financial platform to accelerate recovery. Our priority will be to meet the demand of a fast-growing clientele wishing to sail without constraints and to intensify the development of our digitalization".
The investing alliance combines the support of a financial investor with €40 billion under management that leverages digital transformation in its shareholdings in order to consolidate the fragmented sailboat charter market on a global scale and the desire of a major manufacturer in the marine sector to diversify into services.