Yes, for businesses and for private buyers. A charter operator, marina, sailing school or workboat owner takes commercial asset finance secured on the vessel. A private buyer purchasing for personal leisure use takes a regulated consumer credit agreement, which carries additional statutory protections. We arrange both through lenders who understand marine assets.
Whoever is buying, lenders look at the vessel as well as the applicant. Age, hull material, survey condition, mooring or berthing arrangements and how readily the boat could be sold again all affect who will lend and on what terms. Marine is a specialist class, so fewer funders write it than write vans or diggers, and appetite varies noticeably between them.
The regulatory split is worth understanding before you apply. Finance to an incorporated business for genuine business use sits outside the FCA consumer credit regime. Sole traders and partnerships are individuals in law, so their agreements may fall inside it depending on the amount and the purpose — business-purpose borrowing above £25,000 broadly sits outside the regime, though you should check the current position rather than rely on a remembered figure. A private purchase for personal use is regulated, and that brings the full set of consumer disclosures, cooling-off and termination rights with it.
In every case the boat is security for the agreement. If you fall behind on payments it can be repossessed, and you may still owe a balance afterwards. Mooring, insurance, lift-out and maintenance costs continue alongside the finance. No lender commits to anything before a full assessment, and we cannot promise that finance will be available.