The ‘lure of the liveaboard’: Rising house prices and restrictions lead to surge in liveaboard vessel finance

Trend sees younger people opting for ‘life afloat’ #BargeLife

Leading marine finance lender, Promarine Finance has seen a near 40% year-on-year increase in the number of finance deals for liveaboard vessels from January 2021 to date.

These customers are also borrowing more with a higher loan to value (within the 80% maximum Promarine allows) compared to the same period in 2020, indicating a new and younger demographic entering the market.

Liveaboard vessels are becoming a real trend in the UK with many customers taking advantage of the affordability, the lifestyle and the freedom they offer. Many types of boats can be considered a liveaboard such as a powerboat or cruising sailboat, houseboats, or barges, even narrowboats.

Promarine Finance offers fixed and variable rate marine mortgages for new and used RIBs, motorboats, sailing yachts and canal boats over periods of two to 15 years and is one of only a few finance providers for liveaboard vessels in the UK.

In March, there were 35,130 people with boat licences for rivers and canals– compared with 34,435 last year and 32,490 in 2012. The Canal & River Trust states that surveys put the proportion of liveaboard vessels on the water at around 25% (a rise from 15% in 2011) nationally.

Stuart Austin, Director of Promarine Finance, comments: “Our Q1 performance this year has been our strongest to-date. We’ve noticed a surge in demand for boat finance particularly for liveaboard vessels. The ‘race for space’ fuelling the housing crisis is pushing buyers to consider alternative and more cost-effective living arrangements. Customers opting for liveaboard vessels are also getting younger. Liveaboards such as canalboats are no longer considered an option for just the retiree, instead drawing people who are seeking alternative lifestyles with freedom from the traditional housing options.”

He continues: “There are approximately 4,700 miles of navigable canals and waterways in the UK. With so much to explore, it’s no wonder people are opting to have freedom. The canals are certainly calling!”

Promarine Finance hires a new Business Development Manager

Promarine bolsters team as part of its development programme with ex-Olympian.

Leading marine finance lender, Promarine Finance has appointed a new Business Development manager, Steve Bent following a period of substantial growth.

Steve’s appointment is part of an on-going development programme that will see the company continue to expand over the next 12 months.

In 1984, Steve represented Great Britain in track cycling at the LA Olympics. His passion for cycling has continued throughout his career and he has spent the last 30 years owning and operating his own cycling organisations.

Steve will be responsible for the overall business growth strategy and execution. He will also support the sales team with lead acquisition and processing.

Steve’s wealth of experience adds continued value to Promarine Finance

Stuart Austin, Director of Promarine Finance, comments: “We have just had our busiest Q1 to date with a substantial 71% increase in the number of deals made, compared to the same period in 2020. We are keen to build on our success and Steve’s appointment will further enhance our growth for the remainder of the year and beyond. Steve comes with a wealth of business development experience including business acquisitions, mergers and spearheading lead generation strategies.”

Steve comments: “My career spans business ownership and development roles. This newly created role will benefit from my existing skill sets and present new challenges. I am pleased to be joining the dynamic team at Promarine Finance and sister company, Prolease.”

Promarine Finance Q1 deals up 71%

Leading marine finance lender, Promarine Finance has seen a 71% increase in the number of finance deals in Q1 2021 vs 2020.

Promarine Finance offers fixed and variable rate marine mortgages for new and used RIBs, motorboats, sailing yachts and canal boats over periods of two to 15 years.

The biggest demand has been driven by motorboat finance during this time. Promarine has seen a substantial 180% increase in the number of motorboat mortgages in Q1 2021, a 150% year-on-year increase in finance deals for RIBs for the same period compared to 2020 and a 30% increase in the number of canal boat finance deals.

Stuart Austin, Director of Promarine Finance, comments: “Our Q1 performance this year has been our strongest to-date. We’ve noticed a surge in demand for boat finance, particularly for motorboats and RIBs. This highlights the growth in leisure boating in the UK and indicates that boat ownership is very strong.”

“With ongoing uncertainty about overseas travel and the requirement for vaccination passports, and ‘green zones’, more people are opting for guaranteed leisure time through boat ownership. We initially thought this to be pent-up demand, but it has become apparent that the industry is welcoming new entrants to the market. They are more decisive in their purchase; we believe they are not just here for the short-term but see leisure boating as a safe, unrestricted option.”

Promarine Exclusive Crick Boat Show offer: Free professional narrowboat handling course for Promarine customers

We have teamed up with the Narrowboat Skills Centre to offer an exclusive Crick Boat Show deal for this year’s upcoming event.

At Promarine, we know how important it is to have full confidence when at the helm of your own boat, particularly if you are new to boating.

We will be offering a voucher for one person to undertake a Helmsmans Course (normally priced at £360pp) or Diesel Engine and Boat Maintenance course (priced at £220pp) for all finance applications received during the show (24th-28th March) and who go on to complete a finance contract with us before June 30^th 2021.

Exclusive course offer

To be with a chance of winning a professional Narrowboat handling course

Apply now

The Helmsmans Course

The RYA Inland Waterways Helmsmans Course is for those new to boating or those boaters who feel that they need to brush up on their Helmsmans skills. The Helmsman’s course follows the RYA syllabus and participants are awarded an Inland Waterways Helmsman’s Certificate upon successful completion.

The course includes:

Boating Safety
Pre-start checks
Ropework and knots
Boat control
Getting underway
Slowing down, stopping and mooring up
Locks and using them safely
Navigating bridges and tunnels

It is a highly practical course with the majority of the day spent out on the water or on the bank mooring up or on working locks.

The Diesel Engine and Boat maintenance Course

This two-day engine and boat maintenance course incorporates the RYA Diesel Engine course and expands it to cover all the essential maintenance tasks that can be completed by the average boater without the use of specialist tools. The result is that you will be able to keep your boat in good order and in the long run save money.

As well as the routine maintenance tasks the course covers simple fault finding on your engine, drive train and electrics.

Own Boat Experience Day

For those who want a course run on their own boat and who do not require a Helmsmans Certificate we will arrange for a fully qualified instructor to spend a day on your own boat at your location with up to three people. The course will cover as much of the two day Helmsmans syllabus as is possible given the constraints on time and the limitations of the cruising area. Instructor travel costs and overnight accommodation costs will be the responsibility of the customer. Customers can agree upgrades to the courses by negotiation with NBSC.

Offer T&Cs

One Voucher for one person to complete a Helmsman Course or Diesel Engine or other course of similar value, per marine mortgage.

Travel and accommodation costs are at our customers’ expense.

Open to UK residents over the age of 18. No cash alternative. One voucher is available to one sole customer only. Promarine’s decision is final. Promarine reserves the right to withdraw the offer at any time.

Applicants must submit a finance application during 24th-28th March 2021 and complete a finance contract with Promarine Finance before 30^th June 2021.

The offer is in partnership with NSBC and subject to instructor availability and their own conditions listed on https://nbsc.org.uk/terms-and-conditions.

Boat Finance in five easy steps

Promarine Finance aims to make the process of arranging marine finance for your new boat as simple as possible.

You can complete an online application here or call our team at any stage. Here’s how to finance your boat with us in five easy steps.

1. Found your dream vessel and considering finance?

Initially, we will want to know:

a) What are you wanting to do with your boat, is it for recreation, to live on, or a business venture
b) Where you live and how long you have lived there
c) What you do for a living and roughly how much you earn

It is in both our interests to make sure you are able to afford the monthly loan repayments.

Before finalising an offer, we will do a ‘soft credit check’ to look at certain information on your credit report.

Soft searches aren’t visible to other companies – so they have no impact on any future credit applications you might make. Only you can see them on your report, and it doesn’t matter how many there are. It helps us to get a gauge of your financial health.

And receive a copy of three months’ bank statements – an internet banking copy is fine. If you are a business, we will require your accounts information too.

2. Underwriting guidelines and requirements

We require a deposit of 20% or more
Satisfactory credit search
3 months of bank statements

Decision time – usually we offer a decision on the same day we receive the above information.

3. Processes and documentation

The marine finance industry operates standard documentation which we and your yacht broker will be able to advise you about depending on the vessel you are purchasing.

Our documents consist of a marine mortgage document (loan agreement secured on the vessel) and a direct debit which your bank requires in order to transfer the agreed monthly payment to us.

If it is a new boat, all we require is the original invoice or a Bill of Sale from the boat builder to yourself.

If you are buying a used boat, your broker will arrange for a Bill of Sale to be completed by the current owner of the vessel agreeing to sell the boat to you.

This is essential to be able to track a boat’s history and ensure you are obtaining the agreed title to the boat.

If it is a used boat, we will require original bills of sale for a period of up to five years. We may require a survey depending on the age, value and type of vessel.

4. Buying from a private vendor? We will help both of you to complete the paperwork

Once all documentation is in place, we will transfer the loan amount to your broker (or private seller) who will use this money and your deposit to pay the vendor of the vessel. Your marine mortgage is now live.

The broker will at this point complete the bill of sale. All original documents are required by Promarine Finance. We will issue you copies of all the documents we have and we will hold on to the originals until the loan is repaid.

We do require the vessel to be comprehensively insured. This may require you to have a survey in order to meet the insurance company conditions.