Why fly in a private jet when you can hop aboard your own 130-foot superyacht?
Burgess, one of the world’s leading brokerage firms specializing in luxury yachts, has opened its fourth U.S. location at the Santa Monica Airport, its president and CEO Jonathan Beckett hoping he can capitalize on the office’s proximity to Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood and Malibu, calling the airport the “private jet terminal of choice for Hollywood’s elite.”
“We are very excited about enhancing our yacht service and expanding our outreach in this important market, and one which holds opportunity for significant growth,” Beckett said in a press release. “With full-service offices on both coasts, we can better serve our existing clients here as well as tap the potential in America.”
The London-based company is aware of the airport’s storied history and is “proud” to be associated with it, lending its own 35-year marine tradition to the facility.
Jay Becker will run the SMO operation. Becker has some familiarity with the airport and its clientele. He is the general manager of Gunnell Properties, which hold the lease on 11 acres of property at the airport, and vice president of North Field Properties Inc., which frequently rents space for movie shoots, fundraisers and other special events. At the heart of the property is Hangar: 8, a 15,000 square foot structure.
“With its jet-set country club ambiance, the elite clientele who frequent the Santa Monica Airport will appreciate the ease and convenience of entrusting their yachting arrangements to people they already know and trust at the same location,” Becker said.
