One of the world’s biggest suppliers of yachts to the super-rich, Ferretti, is to hire financial advisers for a debt restructuring in a move that highlights how the credit crunch has dashed sales of luxury craft against the rocks.

The global financial crisis has hurt the Italian company – which has a star-studded client list including Brigitte Bardot and Jennifer Lopez – with many of the world’s multimillionaires pulling back from buying big-ticket items.