Informa Prestige has never run an event built solely around superyacht refit, until now. The Future of Refit opens at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 31 March 2027, aimed at a market the organisers value at up to five billion US dollars a year.
According to Informa Prestige, this sector's most important conversations have too often taken place on the sidelines of events built for other purposes. The Future of Refit is designed to change that.
Informa Prestige already runs the Monaco Yacht Show, described in its own material as the world's leading superyacht event.
The numbers explain why refit is getting this kind of attention. It accounts for roughly 36 per cent of earnings across the entire superyacht sector, and the global market is growing at 6 to 9 per cent a year, against a fleet of more than 6,000 active superyachts over 30 metres. A significant share of that fleet, built during the construction boom of the 2000s and 2010s, is now lining up for its first or second major overhaul. Owners already commit around 10 per cent of a yacht's value annually to upkeep. Major refits land every five to ten years. Full order books at the leading new-build yards are only adding to the queue.
The event slots into Yacht Club de Monaco's Monaco, Capital of Advanced Yachting positioning, joining the SEA Index carbon benchmark and the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, whose 14th edition runs 29 June to 3 July 2027, on the club's list of industry-shaping initiatives. Refit Live sits at the centre of the new programme, an interactive forum of keynotes, roundtables, case studies and workshops, with BOAT International's editorial team running daily sessions.
Stewart Campbell, Managing Director of BOAT International, indicated "An event dedicated exclusively to the refit sector is long overdue. This market is only growing in importance as new build order books remain full and the demand for yachts increases. Refit is the obvious choice for many owners looking to get on the water without waiting for a new build, and as a result we're seeing some truly exciting refit and rebuild projects at shipyards around the world."
Skipping the build queue by buying an existing hull and refitting it is, in Campbell's words, becoming the obvious choice for many owners. Monaco is now giving that choice a dedicated event of its own.
Commentary: The interesting part of this announcement isn't the market data, it's what Refit Live signals about status. For years, the new build was the story, the launch, the delivery, the world debut at a show like Monaco's. Refit was the unglamorous follow-up, the bit that happened after the photographers left. An event built entirely around Refit Live, with its own designer masterclass and its own place on the calendar, suggests the industry now sees refit as creatively significant in its own right, not just maintenance with a price tag. Given that a large share of the 6,000-plus fleet over 30 metres is heading into its second major refit cycle, that shift in status looks overdue rather than premature.
Further programme details, confirmed participants and exhibition opportunities are due in the coming months.
Find out more about from the Future of Refit from the Monaco Yacht Show and Boat International.
