PRESS RELEASES
2009 - The Year in Review
2008 - The Year in Review

MEDIA
July 2010 - Case Study - Alpha Z33 USA to Monaco
March 5, 2009 - Article: Business Review Week
January 2009 - Article: Offshore Yachting Wally Regatta
September 24, 2008 - Artricle: Herald Tribune
May 2007 - Article: Ocean Magazine
November 2005 - Article: Ocean Magazine

March 5, 2009 - Business Review Week.

In 1974, dissatisfied with his job as an accountant, Paul Archer decided to leave Australia to travel through Europe and indulge his love of sailing. Two decades later, in 1997, he established a yachting consultancy, Arrow Services Monaco, in the port of Fontvieille, Monaco.
Since then, Archer has advised on the purchase and construction of million-dollar yachts for clients who have included European royalty, movie stars and industry titans.
"It is a multibillion-dollar business and over the last 20 years it has just blossomed, largely due to the wave of financial wealth in Europe," Archer says.
Although his glamorous lifestyle is a far cry from the career he scorned, his financial nous has not been wasted. "Today, in many ways, I am running an accountancy practice, because part of the business entails sorting out accounts and finances for my clients."
Prior to starting Arrow, Archer lived in London where he pursued his love of sailing as a member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club.
It was in London in 1989 that he set up a new division for Swiss investment bank UBS, specialising in providing financial and taxation advice to UBS clients who owned yachts.
Archer realised there was scope to broaden the range of services to yacht owners and in 1995 moved to Monaco and eventually started his own business.
Arrow's clients include some of the world's wealthiest people, and the luxury boats it has helped to finance - and often manages on behalf of their owners - range in value from €2 million ($3.9 million) to €100 million.
"Yachts can be an impulsive purchase," he says. "If you're going to spend €20 million on a boat then you need to understand the tax and [value-added tax] implications [as well as] legal and insurance implications. Even with the financial world in turmoil, we are busier than ever because people are realising they need this advice. We expect turnover to increase by 35 per cent this year, even in this slump."
Archer plans to extend his yachting services to Australia. Although he has several Australian clients, most of the work involves assisting them build vessels in Europe. "The business will develop here, but it's still early. There has always been this notion that Australians don't have big boats, but this is changing, as we are starting to see boats up to 100 feet." He plans to resettle in Australia in the next few years but says he will retain his operations in Monaco and Geneva.
Interview: Emily Chantiri

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