Allan Tongs wins exclusive Australian deal with d'Albora

Allan Tongs Boatbuilders has signed an exclusive Australia-wide representation agreement with d'Albora Yacht Brokers, giving the New Zealand boatbuilder its first formal route into the Australian market.

Under the deal, d'Albora becomes the sole authorised Australian representative for the Elite AT43 and will market the vessel through its network of 16 marinas across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. The AT43 is already listed by the broker as available to order, ahead of its first deliveries into Australia.

The agreement marks a notable step for Allan Tongs, a family-owned Auckland business that has spent more than four decades building custom motor yachts. Run by Nigel and Ester Tongs, the company now gains access to a market it had previously been unable to serve directly.

"We've had steady enquiry from Australian buyers for a long time, without the presence to do anything about it," said Nigel Tongs of Allan Tongs Boatbuilders. "There's real unmet demand over there for a boat built properly, by hand, to the owner's own brief. This gives us the reach to finally meet it, and it's a genuinely exciting step for a business that's spent forty-three years building one boat at a time."

d'Albora, which describes itself as Australia's largest marina group, will use its east coast footprint to represent the model. Through parent company d'Albora Marinas, its network stretches from Airlie Beach to Melbourne.

According to the broker, Australian interest in the AT43 has already exceeded available supply.

"The AT43 addresses a significant unmet need in the Australian market," said Adam Hickey, Sales Manager and Senior Broker at d'Albora Yacht Brokers. "There's a clear opportunity for a vessel like this, one that's genuinely custom-built at a production price. Moreover, the Allan Tongs name carries real weight with people who understand what quality construction actually looks like. We expect demand to build quickly once the boat is in the water here."

Production plans

The agreement comes as Allan Tongs increases output at its Auckland yard. It is lifting annual production from two vessels to three or more under a manufacturing strategy developed with business consultant Steve Parker.

The increase gives the company more boats to place into a new export market without the cost of setting up its own Australian operation. It also gives d'Albora a new model to offer through a broker network already fielding enquiries for the boat.

Custom approach

The Elite AT43 is positioned between a standard production boat and a fully bespoke motor yacht. Buyers go through the same design process used for New Zealand customers, with choices covering engine configuration, cabinetry and interior finishes.

The vessel has a three-cabin GRP hull and is designed to fit standard 13.5 and 14-metre marina berths in both New Zealand and Australia. That sizing may support its appeal in marina markets where berth dimensions can influence buying decisions as much as layout and finish.

For Allan Tongs, the partnership is one of the biggest changes in the company's history, combining a planned increase in output with a dedicated sales presence in Australia. For d'Albora, it adds an exclusive arrangement with a niche New Zealand builder at a time when buyers appear to be looking beyond higher-volume production brands.

The broker expects demand to rise further once the boat enters the Australian market.