Lendus.

Charter Boat Finance

Spread the cost of charter and passenger boats from £40,000 to £350,000+ with flexible finance options. HP, lease, or refinance, compare rates from 40+ lenders.

Can you finance a charter boat?

Yes, charter boats are financed as a standard asset purchase, usually on hire purchase or a lease, with the machine itself acting as the security. UK prices typically run £40,000 to £350,000, and most deals are written over 24–84 months with a deposit of around 15–25%. Decisions typically take 48–72 hours. Used machines are financeable too, usually with a shorter term.

200+ UK lenders
2-minute application
No credit check to apply
FCA-regulated brokers

Typical Cost

£40k – £350k

Approval Speed

48–72 hours

Same-day agreement in principle for < £75k

Rates From

5.5% APR

What would a charter boat cost per month?

£120,000
10%
60 months
9%
£0

Your estimate

Indicative only. Not a quote and not an offer of finance.

Pre-filled with a typical charter boat price. Indicative only, not a quote.

Compare charter boat finance rates from 200+ lenders

Check Eligibility

Finance options

Hire Purchase (HP)

Rate
From 5.9% APR
Term
24–84 months
Deposit
15–25%
Ownership
Yours at the end
Best for
Operators wanting to own the vessel outright

Finance Lease

Rate
From 5.5% APR
Term
24–84 months
Deposit
None required
Ownership
Return or buy (balloon payment)
Best for
Tax-efficient, claim the full lease payment against season income

Operating Lease

Rate
From 6.2% APR
Term
24–60 months
Deposit
None required
Ownership
Return at end
Best for
Renew the fleet before a coding certificate becomes costly to renew

Representative example

On a purchase price of £120,000: a 10% deposit of £12,000, then 48 monthly payments of £2,531 at 5.9% APR representative (fixed). Total amount payable £133,488, including the deposit. The rate you are offered depends on your business and the asset.

What buyers actually specify

Guide prices for sizing a finance agreement, not quotes. Manufacturers in this market mostly price on application, so where a current UK list price could not be confirmed the row describes a specification class rather than naming a model. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.

Machine or specification Guide price Type
12-Passenger Coded RIB Charter Boat (spec class) £45,000 – £95,000 Coded Passenger RIB
10m Angling/Day Charter Boat (spec class) £80,000 – £180,000 Angling and Day Charter Boat
15m Passenger Vessel, Cat 2 Coded (spec class) £180,000 – £350,000 Coded Passenger Vessel
8m Sport Fishing Charter Boat (spec class) £60,000 – £120,000 Sport Fishing Charter Boat

Ready to compare charter boat finance? 2 minutes, no credit check.

Check Eligibility

Tax benefits

Charter boats used for business qualify for Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), letting you deduct the full cost from taxable profits in the year of purchase, up to £1,000,000. HP agreements let you claim capital allowances on the vessel; lease payments are generally deductible in full against profits.

Market context

Charter boats are bought by dive operators, angling charter skippers, wildlife and sightseeing tour operators and small passenger boat companies, many of them seasonal businesses where the vessel earns most of its income across a few months of the year. Because the boat carries fare-paying passengers, it must be coded by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to a category that matches the water it operates in and the number of passengers carried, and that category drives both the build specification and what a lender will fund. Charter boats are mobile assets that can be relocated or sold on relatively easily, which makes some mainstream lenders cautious and pushes charter finance toward marine specialists. A vessel's survey condition, and how current its coding certificate is, matter more to resale value than age alone.

Bad credit?

Several of our 200+ lenders specialise in businesses with imperfect credit histories. You may need a larger deposit or personal guarantee, but options exist. Checking your options here does not affect your credit score, because we do not run a credit search to match you. A lender will run their own checks only if you decide to apply.

Compare rates from 200+ lenders, takes 2 minutes.

Check Eligibility

Frequently asked questions

What passenger coding do I need before I can operate a charter boat?
The coding category depends on the number of passengers you carry, the water you operate in and how far you go from a safe haven, ranging from sheltered inland waters through to unrestricted offshore categories. A lender will want to know which category you're coding to or already hold, since it affects the vessel's specification, safety equipment and ultimately its resale value. Get advice from an MCA-recognised certifying authority before committing to a specific vessel.
Can I finance a charter boat as a seasonal business?
Yes, but lenders will look closely at how your income is spread across the year, since a boat that only earns for four or five months still needs the finance serviced across twelve. Some funders offer seasonal or stepped payment structures that align repayments with your trading pattern, and having two or three years of trading history to show the pattern is realistic will help your application.
Do I need public liability and passenger insurance sorted before applying?
Lenders don't usually need the policy in place before an initial application, but they will make any agreement conditional on appropriate passenger and public liability cover being confirmed before the vessel starts operating commercially. It's sensible to get a quote early, since premiums vary a lot by coding category and route, and the figure feeds into your overall running cost picture.
What deposit is typical for a charter boat?
Hire purchase deals typically ask for 15–25% deposit, reflecting the specialist nature of a coded passenger vessel as security. Finance and operating leases can often be arranged with no deposit at all. A larger deposit, or trading history showing a full season's income, will generally improve the rate a lender offers. Presenting bookings or advance sales for the coming season alongside your accounts can also strengthen the application, particularly for a business only a couple of years into trading.

Related equipment finance

More marine finance

See how lenders treat marine assets

Guides and resources

Ready to finance your charter boat?

Compare rates from 200+ lenders. No credit check.

Check Eligibility →
Check Eligibility, 2 min, no credit check