Launched as a novel membership concept, the Armada Club seeks to bring the discreet and luxurious ethos of a Mayfair private members’ club to superyachts
Words: Will Moffitt
“True luxury has never been about the price of things,” says Claire Hagen, co-founder of the Armada Club. “It's the extra detail that tells someone: we thought about you before you arrived.”
That conscientious mantra, allied with a focus on delivering consistently exceptional service – and maintaining watertight discretion – are the enticing ingredients behind the Armada Club.
Launched in March, the private members' club is the first of its kind: an enterprise wholly distinct from fractional ownership or yacht syndicates that grants members exclusive access to a global fleet of superyachts. In some cases, super-superyachts.
Dreamed up by Jonny Harris, a Grammy and Brit award-winning songwriter and music producer, and Hagen, who has more than a decade of experience in luxury hospitality, the Armada Club is not an enterprise for loud, flashy types who want to show off.
Having co-written and produced number one hits alongside Ed Sheeran, Rudimental, John Newman, Paloma Faith and Take That, Harris has experienced the invasive nature of fame first hand. His professional life has provided him with unique access to a worldwide network of influential individuals, for whom privacy is a daily necessity. Most recently Harris worked on a song for Take That, swapping WhatsApp messages with Gary Barlow.
“I think it's important that I keep a foot in music for the club because there's so many possible connections with that,” he tells me. “I've worked with Ed Sheeran and people who can't actually step outside or go to a restaurant. They are the perfect kind of people who'd utilise something like this.”
While the concept is fresh – member applications only opened in June and the club is finalising strategic partnerships with leading brokerage houses and shipyards – demand has been high. Members and yachts are currently being onboarded, and the app that will power the club is still being developed. At the time of writing the official launch is planned to take place in St Barts in early 2027.
At least 10 percent of all member and business membership annual fees are being dedicated to supporting marine conservation, ocean preservation and mental wellbeing initiatives for crew. This fund will also provide essential support for a mental health charity.
“Our mission statement is to keep it very exclusive, to around 30 to 40 members and 50 or 6o yachts for the first push,” Harris explains. “Then with the owners attached to that as well, to make sure that every single experience is successful, and then expand.”
Hagen, whose multifaceted career has seen her work to open London hotels such as Hyatt Churchill and The Trafalgar – and lead on digital strategy for Penguin Books – collaborates with yacht owners, Lürssen Yachts, Triton Submarines and senior sales brokers through her marketing agency, This is Odyssey.
With most yachts lying idle for about 80 percent of the year, Armada is not simply an opportunity to bring superyachts to a broader clientele and use these vessels more efficiently, but to utilise them as exclusive private venues for business meetings, wellness and dining experiences.
“Some of the world's best chefs are working on yachts, and the interior and exterior dining spaces often surpass even the finest five-star resorts,” Hagen says. “Opening these vessels up for amenity access is a genuinely special opportunity”
So what does the industry think? Kira-Karina Brahmst-Hentschel, an owners' representative of Anima II and Spirit Yachts shipyard, talks of Armada catering to a refined middle ground, a gap in the market between full ownership and the occasional charter.
“Modern wealth values flexibility over possession, curation over choice overload and discretion over visibility,” Brahmst-Hentschel says. “A private members' yacht club transforms yachting from a catalogue-driven service into a trusted circle.
“For an owner, it means better alignment, protected positioning and long-term relationships rather than fragmented bookings. For a sales representative, it creates something even more powerful: a cultivated community of future owners, built through trust and shared experience rather than cold acquisition.”
Captain Alistair Best, meanwhile, sees the concept as a rare and valuable training opportunity. “From a crew perspective, as a captain, this is a good way to improve service and train greener crew without the pressure of delivering a full week charter from day one,” Best says. “[And it also brings] extra revenue for the crew and yacht.”
In theory the Armada Club sounds like a no brainer, but execution is everything, especially with novel hospitality concepts. Discretion and a commitment to exceptional service are worthy values. Now Harris and Hagen need to make this seafaring project sing.
