Well-known and successful business for sale as a going concern - Lady Grace Boat Trips, running from Mersea Island based in Essex.
Lady Grace Boat Trips offers a variety of length trips such as short harbour tours, sightseeing trips, longer wildlife and lunch trips and more, including room to expand. The business has been established for 12 years with fantastic reviews and online social media presence as well as numerous publications and TV appearances. Lady Grace is a 21ft matlow grp hull fitted out as an open launch, and is sold with any existing bookings, business mobile phone number, social media and website. This is an ideal opportunity for a budding water enthusiast to buy an established and profitable business with a large following and existing client base. As the current owner has proven, this business can be run either on a casual basis providing an easy income seasonally or for someone who thrives on a challenge and wants to grow the business further and providing a good annual income working 12 months of the year.
It’s set up to allow you to take as little or as many trip bookings as you wish based on your circumstances. Although bookings can be seasonal the current owner has attracted year round custom working with Mersea Outdoors Centre for educational school trips and the RSPB on wildlife surveys in the past and present respectively. The boat offers various length trips, from 20 minute short harbour trips at £40 a trip providing an hourly rate of £120, to all day excursions. In peak season this boat has turned over more than £1000 per day!
About the boat herself, Lady Grace is a matlow 21 GRP hull which has been fitted out as an open launch by the current owner. She suits the job perfectly with shallow draught, great weight carrying capacity due to her full beam midship and is fitted with a beta 28hp, new in 2018, which is unbelievably efficient.
The hull underwent a major refit in 2020 which included bespoke moulded grp seating/lockers forward and engine box/helm console aft. All the decks and bulkheads are now nidaplast and GRP to future proof her. Below the waterline is copper-coated and the boat also benefits from a full surround of large inline fenders which is handy for laying alongside other vessels as a water taxi or alongside pontoons, quays and jetties to collect passengers.
She has a stainless mast with stays to assist passengers getting on and off, with LED navigation lights, radar reflector and antenna fitted for the VHF. The boat comes with all the relevant safety equipment and has been examined fully both in and out the water on 11th March 2024 and was found to comply fully with or exceed the requirements of the Colchester Borough Council Boat Licensing Scheme for Sea Angling and Other Charter Vessels. Everything is there for a turn-key business. To buy a similar vessel set up new was quoted 5 years ago at over £60,000 plus VAT for the boat on its own.
Personal circumstances are the only reason for this reluctant sale.
Price for Business £65,000 Ono, sensible offers to buy the boat on its own excluding the business will be considered but would prefer to see the business continue.
The business website can be viewed at (website in contact data) and you can view the business trip advisor reviews at: (website in contact data)
Deck: GRP hull. Bespoke moulded grp seating/lockers forward and engine box/helm console aft. Copper-coated hull. All round fenders. Ant slip deck. Stainless steel mast. Rubbing stake. Life buoys. Mooring cleats. Storage compartments.
Cabin: N/A.
Cockpit: Standing console with engine controls. All round 360° visibility.
Electronics: LED navigation lights. Radar reflector. Antenna fitted for the VHF.
