Revolut co-founder Nick Storonsky is facing a €17.5m (£11.5m) in legal action over the purchase of the Nixie superyacht for around €350m. The case was filed by brokerage firm Cecil Wright & Partners at the High Court in London on 14 July 2026. The amount is equivalent to 5 per cent of the deal's stated value, or around $20m.
At the heart of the dispute is whether the broker was the “effective cause” of the purchase. Cecil Wright & Partners claims she introduced the yacht to Storonsky's team in July 2025 and was involved in the initial talks. The company insists that the subsequent change of ownership does not erase its role in reaching the deal.
“The claim is without merit and will be contested“, a representative of the Storonsky family office told the Financial Times.Deal changed by the arrest of the seller
The Nixie was built by the German shipyard Lürssen and is about 102 meters long. The yacht has a glass infinity pool with a transparent bottom, a cryochamber, a spa area and a beach club with an area of nearly 270 square meters.
The vessel was originally ordered by Canadian businessman Patrick Dovigi. During construction, he sold it to Brazilian banker Daniel Vorcaro. It was with Vorkaro that the initial negotiations, in which, according to the broker, Storonsky's team was involved, were connected.
These talks failed after Vorkaro was arrested in November 2025 as part of an investigation into alleged fraud. According to Storonsky's defense, ownership of the yacht then reverted to Dovigi, who was its original guarantor.
ChatGPT's role in the defense
Storonsky's lawyers claim that he already knew about the connection between Dovigi and Nixie, after discovering the information through a ChatGPT search using publicly available data. After the deal with Vorkaro fell through, he and his team independently sought out Dovigi's representatives and negotiated a separate purchase, which closed in January 2026.
Thus, the defense disputes the thesis that the broker led to the final deal. According to this version, the seller, negotiations and terms were different, and Cecil Wright & Partners was not involved in the final agreement.
The brokerage maintains the opposite: that it was Nixie's initial presentation that initiated the process that led to its acquisition by Storonsky. The High Court in London must assess which of the two versions is supported by the evidence. As of September 26, 2026, there is no decision in the case, and no date has been publicly indicated for its final hearing.
Sources: Financial Times, Bloomberg, Sifted