PERRY TAKES HELM
It’s business as usual at a long-established Gold Coast boating brokerage and charter firm despite a new captain
BOATING isn’t just a day job for Perry James – it’s in his blood and his family’s too. The new owner and boss of Gold Coast marine brokerage and charter firm Geoff Lovett International says he’s been around the water all his life.
His family used to own a marina and he has long been a keen game fisherman.
On top of that his wife works in administration at Gold Coast City Marina, his son runs charter trips in Cairns during the game fishing season and his daughter is a chef on board charter boats run by his Kiwi business partner John Fairhall.
Perry started with Geoff Lovett International 12 years ago when he got out of real estate in Newcastle and moved to the Gold Coast for the new boating-related role.
He officially took over the firm on May 27, with 76-year-old founder Geoff Lovett remaining on board in an international sales role.
“I have done 12 years of due diligence,” Perry says.
He has no plans to change the name and says Geoff can remain on the team for as long as he wants.
“Everyone knows it as Geoff Lovett International. I’m not changing any names. He’s still busy doing deals, he looks after the international side of things. He’s doing some deals in that regard at the moment – that’s his forte,” he says.
“We find a huge amount of sales are due to referral business with people we have done business with over the years and who keep coming back to us.”
Perry says the firm, which also has a charter arm for national and overseas trips, deals with about 50 sales listings at any one time, focuses on personal attention and has everything from pleasure craft and sail boats to sports cruisers, fishing boats and luxury motor yachts.
With the main arm on the Gold Coast and a branch in Sydney, Perry also has plans to expand with a third site in Auckland, New Zealand, some time in the next 12 months.
The brokerage runs its own annual mini-showcase at the end of May that coincides with the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, given plenty of the visitors are staying near the Geoff Lovett Marina Mirage site.
“We’ve done that for seven years and we’ll continue to do that. A lot of the people who come for Sanctuary Cove are staying here so it’s a nice relaxed atmosphere,” he says.
As for the issue vexing the local industry of late – with Gold Coast International Marine Expo controversially piggybacking on the Sanctuary Cove show’s dates – he says: “I think they should combine the whole lot. People come from interstate and internationally and they want to see all the stuff on offer over the four days. It could be a boating extravaganza on the Coast.
“We actually sold a couple of boats during the show days, which is not the norm for us – people don’t come to spend a million bucks at a boat show.” Perry is buoyant about the general outlook for the industry. “I think people are sick of sitting on their hands now and waiting to see what’s going to happen – the future of the boating industry is promising,” he says.