IYC said on 21 September that Peninsula Yachting had acquired a majority stake in the brokerage and management group. Peninsula Yachting is an investment vehicle the European private equity firm Peninsula Capital created for the maritime sector, and IYC is its first deal. The announcement gives no size for the majority, no price, no valuation, no advisers and no closing date.
What IYC disclosed
The press release carries two quotes, both from the selling side. Stefanos Makrymichalos, chairman of IYC, said his "new partners share our conviction that the best of IYC lies ahead of us". Michel Chryssicopoulos, global managing partner, called the deal "a vote of confidence in what IYC stands for". From Peninsula there is not a word.
The release also says that "IYC's current shareholders remain fully committed to the Company's leadership team and strategic direction". It does not say the current shareholders are still shareholders, and it puts no number on any stake the founders kept. The announcement does not say who will represent Peninsula on IYC's board either.
Peninsula Capital has not commented on the deal — the name Peninsula Yachting appears nowhere on peninsulacapital.co.uk, checked on 22 September — and the BOAT International and SuperYacht Times reports of 21 September carry no figures beyond the release.
Who is behind Peninsula Capital
Peninsula is a European private equity manager domiciled in London and investing out of Madrid, Milan and Paris. Its own site states about €3bn raised since inception and 20 investments since 2017. IYC's release adds that the firm was founded in 2015 and has invested over €1.5 billion through five vehicles; the €3bn matches Peninsula's site, the other figures come from the release alone.
The published portfolio runs to fourteen companies: aerostructures, industrial lasers, access control, fashion, pharmaceuticals, beauty retail. None is from the yachting sector. On the published record IYC is Peninsula's first yacht business, and the money came through a new vehicle the release calls dedicated to the maritime sector.
What IYC says the money is for
The release lists "more ambitious organic and external growth opportunities", a bigger fleet and brokerage capability, and new client segments. External growth means buying other companies. IYC already employs more than 200 professionals across 15 offices, a figure from the release of 21 September 2026.
Raphael Sauleau, chief executive since December 2022 after seven years running Fraser, is neither quoted nor named in the announcement. He is still listed as CEO on iyc.com, and the release says the management structure is unchanged. The announcement came two days before the Monaco Yacht Show opens (the show runs from 23 to 26 September).
Which brokerage houses changed owners in the past year
| Deal | Announced | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient takes a stake in Burgess | November 2025 | Not disclosed |
| Wave Expandary takes 81.4% of Camper & Nicholsons | 28 May 2026 | Reported at about €40m |
| Safe Harbor agrees to buy MarineMax | 9 August 2026 | $1.5bn; not closed as of 22 September |
| OceanWorld strikes a deal with Denison | 7 September 2026 | Not disclosed |
| Peninsula Yachting takes a majority of IYC | 21 September 2026 | Not disclosed |
Last November Ancient, the New York private equity firm founded by Alexander Klabin, invested in Burgess; Jonathan Beckett stayed on as chief executive. Denison Yachting and OceanWorld Group announced their joint venture two weeks before the IYC news. Safe Harbor Marinas, the Blackstone Infrastructure marina platform, is buying MarineMax along with Fraser and Northrop & Johnson, which MarineMax bought in July 2019 and July 2020 for undisclosed sums; completion is expected by year-end.
Photo: IYC. Source: IYC press release, BOAT International, SuperYacht Times, Peninsula Capital.
