German real-estate firm opens first ‘yachting shop’ in California
Luxury real-estate firm Engel & Völkers said it has launched its first “yachting shop” in the U.S. The German real estate firm has 27 real-estate offices in Utah, California and Nevada.
The company said in a statement that the new office in Newport Beach, Calif., is a partnership with Walter Johnson and Leeann Iacino of Walter Johnson Yachts. Johnson will serve as president and lead day-to-day operations. Iacino will be the company’s chief operating officer.
“This is a tremendous milestone for our growth in the Americas,” says Anthony Hitt, president and CEO, Engel & Völkers Americas in the statement. “We’ve seen the value for our clientele by offering both luxury real estate and yachting services, which very much complement one another. This also opens exciting new referral opportunities for our global real estate network and strengthens the portfolio of offerings to our clients in the Americas and abroad.”
Engel & Völkers Yachting first opened offices in the Mediterranean in 2007. In 2018, Engel & Völkers Yachting successfully brokered the luxury yacht “Regina” featured in the James Bond film “Skyfall.” The Newport Beach location joins the company’s other yachting offices in Monaco and Antibes, France.
“We believe wholeheartedly that yachting is a people-first business,” says Johnson. “It was Engel & Völkers’ like-minded business ethos that initially drew us to the brand, and we feel the time is right to introduce a fresh approach to modern yachting to the market in Newport Beach.”
