Funding for commercial workboats used on marine construction, piling support, aquaculture servicing, dredging support and day-to-day harbour maintenance around the UK coast.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Yes. A workboat is funded as a commercial marine asset on hire purchase or lease, and the underwrite is built on the contracts it will service rather than on any leisure valuation. Used workboats are very fundable — aluminium and steel hulls have long working lives and the second-hand market is active. The catch is coding and specification. A workboat must hold the right MCA workboat code for the waters and duties it performs, and a buyer who acquires a hull that is not coded for the intended job finds the boat cannot legally start earning.
Used kit: Yes — used workboats fund well, and hulls of twenty years or more are routinely placed where the code is current and survey records are complete.
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Business asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what this shows — with the equivalent APR underneath, because the two are not the same number. A quick guide only; your actual rate depends on the asset, term, deposit and lender.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 6.0% flat rate (equivalent to 11.5% APR representative), you would repay around £646 a month; total amount repayable approximately £31,000, of which £6,000 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and may receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval. CW Asset Finance is an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630701).
Commercial marine is a small lending market and workboats sit at the sensible end of it, because a coded steel or aluminium hull with a working history is a real asset with identifiable buyers. Funders want the code certificate, the class or survey position, the deck equipment inventory and the contracts or framework agreements the boat will work under. They price in the fact that resale is national rather than local and may involve a delivery voyage. Title is established through Part 1 registration and bills of sale rather than any vehicle-style document, and any prior marine mortgage has to be traced and discharged. Berthing, slipway access and shore compounds are separate contracts outside the asset.
Examples of the machines we are asked to fund. This is not an exhaustive list — if what you are buying is not here, it does not mean we cannot fund it. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.
| Machine | What it is |
|---|---|
| Damen Multi Cat 1908 | Multipurpose shallow draught workboat |
| Damen Shoalbuster 2308 | Push and tow workboat |
| Alnmaritec Sentinel 12m | Aluminium crew transfer workboat |
| Alnmaritec Trident aluminium catamaran | Aluminium landing craft workboat |
| Blyth Workcats 11m catamaran | Aluminium survey and work catamaran |
| Cheetah Marine 10.2m workboat | Aluminium catamaran workboat |
| Seawork bow ramp landing craft | Steel landing craft with bow ramp |
| Volvo Penta D11-670 twin install | Twin main engine package |
| Caterpillar C18 main engines | Heavy duty marine main engines |
| Hydromaster retractable thruster | Workboat manoeuvring drive |
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Marine civils contractors, harbour authorities, piling and pontoon installers, aquaculture servicing firms and dredging support operators. The typical trigger is a contract award that requires a vessel on site within weeks — a sea defence scheme, a marina refurbishment or a multi-year fish farm service agreement. Buyers often already run one or two hulls and are adding capacity rather than starting out, and they need the vessel mobilised before the contract start date.
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Bought on hire purchase, business plant and machinery normally qualifies for capital allowances on the full cost even though you pay for it monthly, which is a large part of why hire purchase is the common structure. On a finance lease you generally set the rentals against profit instead. The rules change between budgets and your position depends on how you trade, so treat this as the direction of travel and get your accountant to confirm the detail before you commit.
Yes, directly. The code sets the category of water and the duties the vessel may perform, which determines what contracts it can service and therefore what income it can generate. A funder assessing a commercial hull reads the code certificate as carefully as the accounts.
Usually yes where it is installed and forms part of the vessel, such as a fixed crane, winch or A-frame. Loose plant carried on deck is generally funded separately. Give us the full inventory so the agreement describes the asset as it will actually be delivered.
It helps considerably. A signed contract or framework agreement gives the funder visibility of the income the boat will earn and is often the difference on a marginal case. Bring the contract, the mobilisation dates and your existing fleet record together. A named client and a defined scope carry far more weight than a tender you hope to win.
Often yes, though it adds steps. The funder will want the registration position, the survey and class status, the delivery arrangements and confirmation of where the vessel will be based. Currency and timing should be planned early because delivery voyages slip. Confirm who holds the vessel documents and whether class certificates transfer with the sale.
Sometimes. Converted hulls can work well, but the funder will want the conversion surveyed, the code reissued for the new duties and the old licence position clarified. An undocumented conversion is much harder to place than a purpose-built workboat. Ask the seller for the conversion drawings and the yard invoices before you commit.
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Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 07581 364281 · serving Leeds, York, Harrogate, Wakefield, Selby, Tadcaster & across North & West Yorkshire.