Sebino Yachts on growing Bellini’s network in cautious market
Oliver Lanza (director of Sebino Yachts) at British Motor Yacht Show
Strong customer interest is helping support confidence among some leisure marine dealers despite a market where buyers are taking longer to commit, according to Sebino Yachts director Oliver Lanza, whose business is building the UK presence of Italian builder Bellini Yacht.
Lanza, whose company is an authorised UK dealer for Bellini Yacht, says Sebino entered the dealership market (in early 2025) at a time when buyers across the sector were taking longer to make purchasing decisions.
“The market is still tough,” he says, “but people love the Bellini brand, they love what this brand represents.” He notes – after making good progress in establishing the brand in the UK – “we’re in a very different position in May 2026 than we were in May 2025.
“We started with a database, CRM database of zero,” he says. “So we’ve gone from that to a really good level of contacts.
“We don’t need huge sales. We can start slowly and gradually. We’re patient,” but he notes, “we’re all [dealers] selling something nobody needs … a toy and a lifestyle.”
Building a dealership in a cautious market
Sebino Yachts was established after Bellini Yachts’ relaunch in 2024, becoming one of the brand’s early dealers in 2025.
The dealership sits alongside parent company Timage, a marine equipment supplier. Lanza says diversification formed part of the business’s strategy as financial pressures affected parts of the UK boatbuilding sector.
Family owned Timage supplies equipment – accessories, hardware, lighting, interior and exterior components – and sells to UK yards.
“But fundamentally, we need to diversify. It’s been a very difficult period with cash flow [for] UK boat yards … We’re reliant on them paying the bills and, if they can’t, we need to start to seek alternative cash flow and options.”
Thus, yacht sales were viewed as an additional revenue stream alongside its existing marine equipment activity, and the move also reflected longstanding family ties to the marine industry and personal connections with Bellini Yacht.
Lanza says Bellini’s Italian heritage also played a role in the decision to represent the brand in the UK market.
“I’m half Italian, the boats are built on a lake in Italy where my father was born.”
First-year strategy for Sebino Yachts
During its first year, Sebino focused on building awareness of the Bellini brand in the UK while generating customer interest. The dealership deliberately retained its first demonstrator boat rather than selling it immediately after its arrival in the UK.
“We didn’t want to sell it last year because we needed a product to show people.”
The boat first appeared publicly at the British Motor Yacht Show in 2025 before being used for promotional activities, including collaborations with automotive dealerships in Bournemouth and customer-experience events.
Lanza says enquiry levels have been encouraging, although customers are taking a long time before committing.
“I have priced the boat in different options many, many times,” he says.
Pricing dynamics in a competitive market
He believes customers remain engaged with the market but are approaching purchase decisions more carefully, especially amid ongoing geopolitical concerns.
“People are working out when the right time is to spend money or if they can.”
Several dealers and brokers at the South Coast and Green Tech Boat Show noted that the UK marine industry is facing a growing affordability challenge, as rising ownership costs are deterring first-time buyers and slowing movement across the wider market.
At the same time, pricing activity elsewhere in the market is influencing buyer expectations.
“There’s still too much stock in the market. It is clearly a buyer’s market.”
Dealers with smaller inventories (like Sebino) are often taking a different approach to pricing than businesses managing larger stock levels.
“We don’t have multiple hulls hanging around,” says Lanza. “We can’t drop the price hugely.”
Brand-building activity and UK showcase programme
Sebino believes Bellini’s low production numbers and Mediterranean styling support its position in the UK market.
He points to the continued popularity of open concepts and positions Bellini as an alternative to premium RIB ownership.
“If that client wants something a bit more luxurious and a bit more grown-up, then this is the next step on from a RIB or an open sports boat.”
The company is continuing to invest in brand awareness activity, including a planned ‘Bellini on the Thames’ programme in June, where it’ll take the Bellini 36 Astor (an 11.3-metre sports cruiser/day boat) to locations including St Katharine Docks, Hampton Court Palace and Henley Royal Regatta.
While the UK remains an important focus, Sebino also intends to target British buyers intending to berth vessels abroad.
“The most important thing for me was knowing that if a British person came to me and said ‘I want a boat for Mallorca’ or ‘I want a boat for Cannes’ or wherever it might be, then they can buy from me and I can process the deal, sell the boat and deliver it to Europe,” he says. “The Bellini dealer network is working well, supporting each other and the growth of the brand.”
The majority of Bellini sales currently remain concentrated in Mediterranean markets, including Italy, Croatia and Greece, although the brand has also entered the US market through representation on the East Coast.
A Bellini 36 Astor is currently priced at around £540,000 plus VAT in ex-demonstrator specification, according to Lanza. A new build to a similar specification would now exceed £600,000 plus VAT. The next Bellini 36 Astor, destined for the UK, due to arrive in August, will be hull number 29.
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