01 Nov The Top 10 Yacht Brokerages in South Florida (2026)

The Top 10 Yacht Brokerages in South Florida (2026)

These are ten yacht sales and charter brokerages with offices in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County, ranked first by their 2025 deal counts in YachtBuyer’s “Brokerage Company of the Year 2025” tables, then by years in business. The list is as of November 1, 2026.

How we chose: each firm needed a South Florida street office shown on its own website, plus a named, dated credential. Seven firms appear in YachtBuyer’s 2025 tables, which use YachtBuyer MarketWatch verified-deal data for yachts over 24 metres; they are ordered by number of 2025 deals. The other three have a South Florida office and membership in a trade association’s directory or a long operating history stated on their own sites, and follow in order of years in business, oldest first. This list is editorial. No company paid to be included, and inclusion is not an endorsement of any transaction. Companies were screened in news and public records for serious legal and regulatory issues.

Facts come from YachtBuyer’s published award tables, the firms’ own websites and press releases, a trade association’s member directory, yachting trade publications and a law firm’s case summary. Figures are as reported on the dates shown and may change.

The List at a Glance

Deals Versus Value: How the Two YachtBuyer Tables Work

YachtBuyer, a yacht marketplace and media brand that runs the MarketWatch sales database, announced its “Brokerage Company of the Year 2025” results on April 17, 2026, at the Palm Beach International Boat Show. It published two top-five tables of confirmed 2025 sales of new-build and pre-owned yachts over 24 metres; YachtBuyer says the deal-count data covers motor yachts. One ranks firms by number of deals. The other ranks them by the total asking value of the yachts in those deals. YachtBuyer calls the second category “sale value”, but its table labels the figures “total asking value”, so we use that term.

The two tables reward different businesses. Denison Yachting topped the deal count with 62, while Edmiston topped value with about €2.96 billion across 43 deals. Moran Yacht & Ship placed third by value with just four deals. A deal counts for a firm when its broker acted for either the buyer or the seller, so one sale can count for two firms. YachtBuyer does not combine the two tables, and neither do we. Our order follows deal count for the seven firms in the tables, because it measures how many transactions a firm handled. It does not measure service or price.

The 10

1. Denison Yachting

Denison Yachting recorded 62 deals in 2025, 41 on the buying side and 33 on the listing side, with a total asking value of about €444.9 million, the most deals in YachtBuyer’s table (April 17, 2026). Its About page dates the Denison family’s yachting business to 1948, when Frank Denison bought a Fort Lauderdale dry dock and renamed it Broward Marine, and says later generations expanded into yacht sales, charter and advisory services. Its headquarters is at 1550 SE 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale, according to its contact page, and its brokers appear in the IYBA member directory (checked November 1, 2026).

2. Fraser

Fraser handled 54 deals in 2025, with 38 on the listing side, the most listing-side deals in YachtBuyer’s volume table, and placed fourth by value at about €671.9 million in total asking value (April 17, 2026). Its website cites more than 75 years in yacht brokerage. MarineMax announced it was buying Fraser in July 2019, according to BOAT International (July 2, 2019). Its South Florida offices are at 1800 SE 10th Avenue, Suite 400, Fort Lauderdale, and 251 Banyan Boulevard, Suite 206, West Palm Beach, according to its office pages.

3. IYC

IYC (International Yacht Company) recorded 52 deals in 2025, 26 on the buying side and 34 on the listing side, and placed fifth by value at about €671.8 million in total asking value, according to YachtBuyer (April 17, 2026). On September 21, 2026, IYC announced that Peninsula Yachting, a new investment vehicle of private-equity firm Peninsula Capital, had acquired a majority stake, and said it has 15 offices and more than 200 professionals. Its South Florida offices are at 110 East Broward Boulevard, Suite 1650, Fort Lauderdale, and 2401 PGA Boulevard, Suite 272, Palm Beach Gardens, according to its contact page.

4. Northrop & Johnson

Northrop & Johnson recorded 44 deals in 2025, 23 on the buying side and 28 on the listing side, with about €327.1 million in total asking value, according to YachtBuyer (April 17, 2026). Its homepage says “Since 1949” and “Proud to be part of the MarineMax family”, and lists more than a dozen offices. Its South Florida offices are at 2015 SW 20th Street, Suite 200, Fort Lauderdale, and 4200 N Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach.

5. Edmiston

Edmiston & Company ranked first by value in YachtBuyer’s 2025 table, with about €2.96 billion in total asking value across 43 deals, and fifth by deal count (April 17, 2026). It was founded in 1996 by Chairman Nicholas Edmiston, with Jamie Edmiston as CEO since 2014, according to the SuperyachtNews directory (undated). Its Miami office is at 1221 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1115, according to its office page.

6. Burgess

Burgess ranked second by value in YachtBuyer’s 2025 table, with about €1.60 billion in total asking value across 31 deals (April 17, 2026). By our arithmetic from those figures, that is about €52 million per deal. The firm was founded in 1975 by Nigel Burgess and lists 19 locations, including Miami, Palm Beach, New York, London, Monaco and Aspen, according to its About page. Its South Florida offices are at 1450 Brickell Avenue, Suite 2780, Miami, and 333 Peruvian Avenue, Palm Beach.

7. Moran Yacht & Ship

Moran Yacht & Ship placed third by value in YachtBuyer’s 2025 table with about €753.2 million in total asking value across four deals (April 17, 2026). By our arithmetic, that is about €188 million per deal, the highest per-deal figure in either table. Its homepage says “Est. 1988” and lists three offices: Fort Lauderdale, Monaco and Newport, Rhode Island. The Fort Lauderdale office is at 1300 SE 17th Street, Suite 204.

8. Camper & Nicholsons

Camper & Nicholsons traces its roots to 1782, according to its homepage, which says “Since 1782”. It offers sales, charter, management and new-build services, according to its website. Its South Florida office is at 450 Royal Palm Way, Suite 100, Palm Beach, according to its office page. It does not appear in YachtBuyer’s 2025 top-five tables.

9. Ocean Independence

Ocean Independence was formed in 2005 by the merger of Ocean Cruise, Velonà Yachting and Sea Independence, with its head office in Switzerland, according to its 20th-anniversary article (October 27, 2025; updated August 21, 2026). The same article says its Fort Lauderdale office opened in 2015, and the firm reports more than 500 yachts sold and upwards of 750 charter contracts a year (self-reported). The office is at 1819 SE 17th Street, Suite 1, Fort Lauderdale, and its brokers appear in the IYBA member directory (checked November 1, 2026).

10. Worth Avenue Yachts

Worth Avenue Yachts was founded in 2011 by Michael Mahan and Brian Tansey and names Palm Beach as its headquarters, according to its About page; it marked 15 years on July 9, 2026. Its South Florida offices are at 201 S. Narcissus Avenue, Suite One, West Palm Beach, and 866 NE 20th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, among eight in total, and offers sales, charter, charter management and new construction, according to its website. Its brokers appear in the IYBA member directory (checked November 1, 2026).

Also Worth Knowing

These firms came up in our research and are not included:

• Merle Wood & Associates: not included, because we could not confirm its office details on its own website.
• YachtZoo: not included, because we could not confirm its pages or find a dated credential.
• Galati Yacht Sales: not included, because we found no South Florida street address; its headquarters is in Anna Maria, Florida.
• HMY Yachts: not included, because we could not find an office address on its website.
• Allied Marine: not included, because its website lists Fort Lauderdale by city only, without a street address.

Questions to Ask Before You Hire

1. Is the broker licensed in Florida? Florida licenses yacht and ship brokers through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). We could not check DBPR records for these firms, so ask for the individual broker’s licence and confirm it with the state yourself.
2. How is the commission set, and who pays it? Ask for the commission and any split between the listing and buying brokers in writing before you sign. A pending proposed federal class action, Ya Mon Expeditions v. International Yacht Brokers Association (S.D. Fla., No. 1:24-cv-20805), challenges how commissions on used-yacht sales are set and paid; the claims have not been proven, and a motion to dismiss was pending as of MLex’s September 22, 2026 report.
3. What data backs the firm’s sales claims? Firms count differently. Denison cited 68 transaction sides in yachts of 79 feet and over for 2025 (BoatTest, February 25, 2026), against YachtBuyer’s 62 deals. IYC reported 49 yachts sold in 2025 (January 12, 2026), against YachtBuyer’s 52. Edmiston reported over €3 billion across 44 yachts (January 20, 2026), against YachtBuyer’s 43 deals.
4. Which associations does the firm belong to? Brokers from Denison, IYC, Northrop & Johnson, Burgess, Ocean Independence and Worth Avenue Yachts appear in the IYBA member directory (checked November 1, 2026). The YBAA publishes its own broker directory. We could not verify MYBA membership for any firm. Membership is a fact to note, not a guarantee about price.
5. Who owns the firm? Ownership can change. MarineMax, owner of Fraser and Northrop & Johnson, agreed in August 2026 to be acquired by Safe Harbor Marinas for about $1.5 billion, with closing expected by the end of 2026, subject to approvals (YachtBuyer, August 10, 2026). IYC took majority private-equity investment in September 2026.
6. Does the firm also handle charter? Fraser, Burgess, Edmiston, IYC, Northrop & Johnson, Ocean Independence, Camper & Nicholsons and Worth Avenue Yachts all list charter on their websites.

The Bottom Line

Seven South Florida firms appear in YachtBuyer’s 2025 tables for yachts over 24 metres. Denison Yachting handled the most deals, at 62, and Edmiston handled the highest total asking value, at about €2.96 billion (April 17, 2026). Camper & Nicholsons, Ocean Independence and Worth Avenue Yachts complete the ten on South Florida presence and years in business. The offices cluster in Fort Lauderdale, Brickell and the Palm Beaches. Whichever firm you speak to, check the broker’s licence, get the commission in writing and ask what data stands behind any ranking claim.

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Last updated November 1, 2026. Facts come from the sources listed above, checked on that date, and may change. Not legal, financial, tax or investment advice. Full disclaimer