Revolut CEO sued by broker over fees on US$400 million superyacht

[LONDON] Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky is facing a lawsuit in London claiming he dodged about 17.5 million euros (US$20.1 million) in commission when he bought a superyacht once valued by its mystery Brazilian former owner at 350 million euros.

Yacht broker Cecil Wright & Partners alleges that Storonsky’s family office approached it to find a suitable luxury vessel to buy while another he had previously ordered was still being built.

The broker found one but claims it was unfairly sidelined when the billionaire eventually bought it, according to court filings. 

The claim, filed at the UK High Court is “without merit and will be defended”, a spokesperson for Storonsky’s family office said in a statement. Lawyers for the Revolut tycoon – the UK’s richest person with a net worth of about US$20.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index – have yet to submit a defence. 

The suit offers a rare glimpse into the opaque world of ultra-luxury yacht deals, where a small circle of shipbuilders and intermediaries arrange purchases worth hundreds of millions of dollars through family offices, WhatsApp messages and offshore firms.

The claim also traces the changing ownership of the yacht, including a period when an unidentified Brazilian owner was arrested while Storonsky was negotiating its purchase. 

“While we are moving full speed on the new build, we want to explore the opportunity to acquire a boat while we are waiting for construction to finalise,” Storonsky’s family office wrote to Cecil Wright in July last year, according to the court documents.

“We would be absolutely delighted to assist with this,” Cecil Wright replied.

Cecil Wright identified an under-construction yacht that was expected to be delivered in May. The yacht had originally been commissioned by Patrick Dovigi, a Canadian businessman and former ice hockey player, before being sold during construction to the Brazilian buyer.

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Storonsky’s office offered about 300 million euros after the Revolut founder inspected the yacht at a shipyard in Schacht-Audorf, Germany. A few weeks later, the Brazilian owner was arrested in connection with allegations of fraud, the broker said in the lawsuit.

The Brazilian person had sought 350 million euros for the yacht prior to his arrest. Following the arrest, Dovigi reacquired the vessel and negotiated its sale to Storonsky, according to the filing.

“The defendant and Mr Dovigi sought to conclude the purchase without the involvement of any brokers to reduce the price that the defendant would pay for the yacht,” Cecil Wright’s lawyers alleged, referring to Storonsky as defendant. 

Dovigi did not respond to an email for comment. BLOOMBERG