Cecil Wright & Partners has filed a claim in London's High Court against Revolut founder Nik Storonsky, seeking €17.5mn in commission it says is owed following his purchase of a €350mn superyacht in January this year.
The luxury yacht broker's filing alleges that Storonsky went "behind its back" to avoid paying the fee. A spokesperson for Storonsky's family office said the claim was without merit and would be defended.
According to the filing, an adviser to Storonsky's family office first approached Cecil Wright & Partners in October 2024 to discuss building a yacht, and in 2025 asked whether Storonsky could acquire a vessel in the meantime. The broker states it suggested a 102-metre vessel under construction at German yard Lürssen, a boat with a 25-foot glass-bottomed infinity pool, a beach club and a gym equipped with a cryotherapy chamber.
The claim states that in January 2026, Storonsky's adviser told Cecil Wright & Partners founder Chris Cecil-Wright that Storonsky had bought the yacht directly from Patrick Dovigi, the Canadian businessman and former ice hockey player who had originally commissioned the vessel. Cecil Wright & Partners argues it was the "effective cause" of the sale and is entitled to a 5 per cent commission under its brokerage agreement.
The vessel's ownership history adds further complexity to the dispute. After Dovigi commissioned the yacht, it was sold to an unnamed "Brazilian owner" who was arrested in November 2025 in connection with fraud allegations. Daniel Vorcaro, a Brazilian bank executive arrested during an investigation into alleged R$12.2bn (US$2.3bn) fraud involving Banco Master, which is stated to have collapsed last year, has denied wrongdoing and is co-operating with authorities. Dovigi subsequently bought the yacht back before selling it on to Storonsky.
Cecil-Wright described disputes of this kind as rare for brokers and said this is the first time he has personally faced such a situation, adding that he felt strongly enough about it to take legal action. He has previously worked on the construction of Madame Gu, a 99-metre yacht built for sanctioned Russian billionaire Andrei Skoch, and Tango, a vessel owned by sanctioned Russian-Israeli oligarch Viktor Vekselberg that was later seized by Spanish authorities.
The claim tests how commission entitlement is evidenced where a buyer completes a purchase directly with a seller after being introduced to a vessel through an intermediary. With the €17.5mn claim disputed and the matter now before London's High Court, the outcome will determine whether Storonsky's family office faces an additional cost on top of the €350mn purchase price, and could influence how family offices and their advisers document engagement terms with brokers ahead of future private yacht transactions.
