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De Valk's Story At your service
How it all began...
According to the archives, De Valk was active in the watersport industry in the Dutch lakeside town of Loosdrecht at least as far back as 1947. It seems to have initially been a marina and boat charter business, although no one knows where the name De Valk (Dutch for The Falcon) came from. If you do we'd love to hear from you!
A career change
The De Valk marina and charter business is bought from his father-in-law by Willem van Baalen, a naval officer who had decided the time was right for a career change. Willem started out with just five people, a figure that would gradually increase over the years as his team showed an eye for genuine customer-friendliness.
Innovation time!
De Valk Loosdrecht becomes a yacht brokerage company and the first in Holland to have its own sales marina, showcasing boats in a single location for review. This smart concept quickly attracted more potential buyers, swiftly followed of course by more potential sellers.
Opening of De Valk Hindeloopen
Our brokerage activities were continuously developed throughout the 1970s. De Valk recognised the importance of being involved in the major boat shows and our international profile grew rapidly. The service portfolio was expanded in line with client requirements, with tailor-made options becoming available in different areas.
A good example of this growth strategy in action is the opening of the De Valk Hindeloopen office in the north of the Netherlands. Then, as now, the office is located in one of the most beautiful places on the IJsselmeer lake and one of the largest marinas in northern Europe.
True pioneers
De Valk entered the new decade as true pioneers in the yacht brokerage world by introducing computer systems in its operations. All offices were interconnected to provide maximum support to clients as well as the latest information. While we all take the computer world for granted today, De Valk went out on a limb with this early move into digital technology. It paid off handsomely and the feat would later be repeated with our early internet presence.
New builds
A new company called Holland Custom Built Yachts joins the De Valk group, focused on new builds. Renamed De Valk Amsterdam in 2010, this office can now leverage on decades of experience and a large international network to anticipate the supply and demand of large boats and superyachts.
Opening De Valk Bruinisse
The De Valk network grows further with the opening of our branch in the Dutch province of Zeeland. For the first 25 years De Valk Zeeland is located in Bruinisse.
Yacht Magazine
De Valk launches its Yacht Magazine publication, which quickly gains a circulation of 35,000 and is sold in shops as well as being distributed to (potential) clients.
Opening De Valk Palma
De Valk clients in the south of France are given the red carpet treatment at a De Valk branch in Cannes, which later moves along the coast to the harbour at Antibes where it still resides today. A dedicated new De Valk office is also opened in Palma, Spain. Now one of the longest standing yacht brokerages in Mallorca, De Valk Palma has an impressive track record of sales by a multilingual personnel in its excellent location opposite Club de Mar.
Opening De Valk Monnickendam
With business brisk in our home country, another new De Valk office opens in Monnickendam on the Marina De Zeilhoek.
Global database
As a new millennium approaches, the De Valk techies continue their work at the forefront of ICT. This includes launching our very own online global database, which would later be upgraded with a Virtual Tour facility and much else besides. www.devalk.nl becomes one of the leading yacht brokerage portals.
First covered sales marina
The De Valk Sneek branch is opened in the northern province of Friesland and features Holland's first covered sales marina, with a vertical clearance of seven metres, berths for 50 yachts and another 30 berths outside. The office is on the canal connecting Sneek and the Sneekermeer Lake and today specialises in the sale of motoryachts.
Falcon Rydell
Launch of Falcon Rydell. Part of De Valk Yacht Brokers and specialised in the management of Super Yachts.
Exclusive Yacht
The success of De Valk's Yacht Magazine is followed up with a supplementary publication called Exclusive Yacht, aimed at the 18-metre-and-over market.
Covered Sales Marina Loosdrecht
In this year we opened our second covered sales marina facility in Loosdrecht. Spanning some 55 x 100 metres, it was the largest construction of its kind owned by any brokerage house in Europe.
De Valk Finance & Insurance
With business booming, more and more clients were seeking our support with the various financial areas involved in buying and selling yachts. To optimise our services, we established the dedicated De Valk Finance & Insurance division.
Mattijs van Baalen
In 2004 Mattijs van Baalen takes over the helm of De Valk from his father as managing director. His approach to the future was clear: to ensure that De Valk becomes the first port of call for professional yacht-related services both in Holland and abroad.
De Valk Charter
To reinforce this ambitious approach, Mattijs sets up a new De Valk charter division at the De Valk Antibes office. The growing charter market is an ideal area in which De Valk can showcase its personal brand of customer service and professionalism.
Mazer Yachting
A new company joins the De Valk network in the Netherlands: Mazer Yachting is the official importer and dealer of for the Fjord and Trader brands in the Benelux and Germany.
New location De Valk Zeeland
After enjoying a successful first quarter of a century in Bruinisse, De Valk Zeeland moves to a great new location in Sint Annaland. This significantly increases the capacity to display larger sizes of yacht both indoors and on the hard thanks to its 80-tonne crane.
De Valk sells Royal Yacht
The Dutch Royal Family originally purchased Jumbo through De Valk in 2005, and we were honoured to have the privilege of selling her once again.
Online Marketing Intelligence Program
A landmark moment in De Valk's marketing approach as we decide to focus on internet and direct marketing rather than print. Our Online Marketing Intelligence Program puts De Valk streets ahead when it comes to collecting market information & market research, gaining insight into demand & supply, understanding the target group, and making optimal use of the internet, Google AdWords and SEO marketing. The data is used to attract as many possible potential buyers to our website and your yacht.
Continuous upgrades
Despite our success online, De Valk knows that yacht brokerage also remains a face-to-face business. All facilities are continuously upgraded as and when necessary in response to changing demands in the market. The work at De Valk Hindeloopen in 2011 is a good example as it significantly increased the capacity for larger yachts on the hard.
Internet Reach
We've reached a major milestone: for the first time ever, our website reached over one million visits in a single year.
Forward thinking
The forward-thinking (and some would say courageous) decision made in 2009 to focus our marketing efforts online are bearing fruit in a significant way by 2015. A period of continuous investments ensures that De Valk becomes one of the largest if not the largest yacht brokerage platform. Moreover, our website attracts an impressive 1.5 million visitors.
De Valk Antibes
The office in Antibes is completely refurbished.
New office in Portugal
De Valk enters the Portuguese market by opening an office in the Algarve in the wonderful marina of Lagos.
De Valk Costa del Sol opens its doors!
De Valk's presence in Spain has been reinforced by a dedicated office for De Valk Costa del Sol. Along with our existing bases in Alicante, Barcelona and Palma this new branch strengthens our activities in a key yachting region and enhances De Valk’s service provision across Europe.
De Valk Barcelona opens its doors!
De Valk's presence along Spain’s eastern seaboard has been reinforced by a dedicated office for De Valk Barcelona in Vilanova Grand Marina, just 30 minutes from Barcelona airport.
New location head office
Our head office was relocated to the historic Naarden Vesting.
Expanding to Germany
De Valk operates from two new locations in the north of Germany: Hamburg and Kiel.
Sustainability milestone
We installed some 5000m2 of solar panels on the roofs of our sales marinas in Sneek and Loosdrecht. Under optimal weather conditions we should be generating some 455,000 kWh per year.
Launch 'My Account'
We launched this online tool as part of our commitment to complete transparency for sellers, giving them full insight into every step of the sales process like all activities and negotiations concerning their boat.
Growing online visitors!
Our website reaches 2.000.000 online visitors yearly!
Return to Belgium
The De Valk network has expanded again with a new office in Belgium.
De Valk Limburg opens its doors!
Our new office in Limburg opened, including a covered winter storage facility of 4000m2 with a sales marina and yacht service.
Selling more than a boat a day!
With our expanding network and strong market we are selling more than a boat a day.
De Valk expands to Asia
De Valk Asia was launched, focusing on Southeast Asia. Thanks to many years of experience and a large international network, De Valk Asia has the ability to anticipate the supply and demand of large boats and superyachts in Malaysia, Singapore and Phuket.
New offices
Opening in Stockholm, Altena, Berlin and Ibiza. By the end of the year we have reached over 800 yachts for sale for the first time in our history.
Falcon Rydell
Our subsidiary Falcon Rydell was relaunched, focusing specifically on the super yacht market.
De Valk at the top Boat Shows worldwide
To keep in touch with the market we attend the following boatshows: Ancora Yachtfestival, Boot & Fun Inwater Berlin, Biograd Boat Show, Cannes Yachting Festival, La Napoule Boat Show, Palma International Boat Show, Motorboot Sneek and The Yacht Experience.
Launch of our new website
With innovative marketing tools and SEO-driven data, a new website was launched to strengthen our digital presence.