Sue Grant joined Berthon International in Lymington many years ago as a trainee broker, tasked with making tea (badly, by her own admission) and learning the craft. Starting with small sailing yachts, she was taught by the best and in 2008 took the helm of Berthon International, then a small team selling about 20 yachts a year. Today, the Berthon Sales Group spans four countries across two continents, with offices in the UK, Sweden, Spain, and the USA, plus a Palma service facility offering storage, refit, and care. The business now sells around 200 yachts annually and represents Solaris, Iguana, Moody, Rustler, and Sealine, while also specialising in bluewater cruising yachts and pre-owned Windy Boats, Discovery, and FPB explorer yachts. Sue credits Berthon’s growth to a united, talented team she likens to family. She remains as passionate about yachts today as she was when she started—still chasing excellence, with many miles now beneath Berthon’s keel.

Senior Yacht Broker Alan McIlroy, who also works on Solaris New Yacht Sales (UK), grew up in Mid Ulster—far from the sea—but sailing was in his blood thanks to his father, an amateur boat builder. His first taste of coastal sailing as a teenager, racing from Bangor to Crinan in a freshening northwesterly, hooked him instantly. After years of club racing and Scottish regattas, a move south in the late 1990s led to a Yachtmaster qualification, seasons teaching and racing in the Solent, and time aboard an 80ft Farr sailing between the USA and Caribbean. Returning to the UK, Alan ran a yacht for an educational trust off Scotland’s west coast—“a dream job” in world-class waters. In the early 2000s, he joined Berthon, swapping Mull for the New Forest with his wife. Now, 17 years later, Alan remains deeply rooted in both family life and yachting, still as passionate about the sea and yachts as he was on that first night sail across the North Channel.

Growing up in Oxford, far from the sea, my route to sailing began through my godfather, a transatlantic racer and circumnavigator. After discovering I was useless at rugby and cricket, I tried a beginners dinghy course and never looked back. From dinghies to yacht racing, I travelled widely, met influential sailors, and joined successful regatta teams. After a short marketing career between London and Southampton, I joined Berthon International “many moons ago,” first in marketing before moving onto the performance brokerage desk. The best of both worlds—sailing and brokerage—has kept me hooked ever since. To stay sharp, I still race sports boats like J/70s and Melges, Maxis, TP52s, and even my skiff dinghy. My brokerage focus is performance yachts, both race and cruising. Unlike the old “cruiser/racer” compromise, performance cruisers offer speed and genuine comfort—fast hulls designed for passage making as well as performance, without sacrificing either.

Sailing Yacht Broker Harry Lightfoot grew up on the River Alde in Suffolk, sailing Oppies and racing up to RS400s before moving into larger yachts and later racing in Vancouver. In 2016, he and his wife relocated to Canada, where Harry began his brokerage career selling a wide range of North American and European sailing and motor yachts, an experience that gave him invaluable international knowledge. Returning to the UK three years later to marry, start a family, and welcome Jack Russell, Banzo, Harry joined Discovery Shipyard as New Sales & Brokerage Sales Manager. There, he specialised in Discovery and Southerly yachts, expanding their brokerage internationally. Now at Berthon International, Harry brings this expertise to Southerly and Discovery brokerage within a passionate and experienced team. Based near the New Forest and Solent, Harry enjoys cricket and regular yacht racing, while still spending time in Aldeburgh with extended family and young son Arthur.

Hugh grew up in a boat-mad house where the family Mirror dinghy spent weeks being “titivated” in the hall—resin smells and all. He raced dinghies from a young age, later instructing through summers (“one of the greatest jobs ever”) before seasons split between the Med and the Alps. A chance encounter on a pontoon led him into yacht brokerage—stuffing envelopes, scrubbing decks, showing boats, and then selling a few. After starting in Lymington with Ancasta, Hugh joined Berthon International in 2009, first handling Linssen Yachts and later moving into motor yacht brokerage. Over the years he’s overseen both brokerage and new motor yacht sales, including Windy and Pearl, before returning to his broker roots in 2021. Today he focuses on motor yachts but still spends much of his time afloat with his family on Content, their Contest yacht, or Paper Moon, their bright yellow Cornish Shrimper—cover stars of PBO.

Robert Steadman’s love of the sea began young, sparked by watersports and especially wakeboarding in his teens. After starting with a UK sports boat importer, he trained for his STCW and set off to the South of France to find a superyacht deckhand role. After weeks of dock-walking he landed a position on a 50m Hakvoort—and five years, four yachts, and 20 countries later, he had lived and breathed yachting, gaining experience from splicing to helming. He earned his Yachtmaster Offshore in 2012 and advanced diving qualifications in Florida before moving into sales and brokerage. Joining Berthon International in 2018 was, as he puts it, “one of the easier decisions.” Today, he heads the New Motor Yacht Sales division in the UK, having studied under Hugh Rayner. For Robert, brokerage is about variety, challenge, and people—and he still enjoys every minute, with new adventures always around the corner.

Harry Shutler, Photographer & videographer, bought his first camera aged 8—a 1988 600 Impulse instant—and hasn’t looked back since. After Uni he spent 8 years at sea on cruise ships before training under Jo Craig in Missouri and running one of his luxury portrait studios. Those years shaped his craft and set the stage for a future behind the lens. Harry now combines his love of the water with photography at Berthon, spending his days out on the Solent shooting yachts—often from a bouncing RIB off the Needles. A foundation degree in film, photography and animation, and a degree in commercial photography underpin his work, though he’s still happiest with analogue film in hand. Thousands of yacht shots may fill his hard drives, but film slows him down, letting him shoot more thoughtfully. Outside work, Harry chases adventure—climbing, hiking, and life on the water or in the mountains, always with a camera nearby.