What Canal & River Trust does

Canal & River Trust is the UK's largest canal charity and the statutory custodian of approximately 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England and Wales, established in 2012 when it took over responsibility from British Waterways. The Trust is registered with the Charity Commission (no. 1146792) and operates as a company limited by guarantee (no. 07807276), headquartered in Milton Keynes with 1,001–5,000 employees organized across six regional teams (West Midlands, Yorkshire & North East, Wales & South West, East Midlands, North West, London & South East). Its infrastructure footprint includes 2,706 listed heritage buildings, 1,000+ recognized nature sites, 704 miles of Green Flag-awarded waterways, and key assets such as the Anderton Boat Lift, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Standedge Tunnel, Foxton Locks, and two National Waterways Museums.

The Trust's commercial portfolio centers on boat licensing through a self-service portal (licensing.canalrivertrust.org.uk), the Waterside Mooring brand managing approximately 3,600 long-term berths across 300+ sites, seven commercial fisheries (Clattercote Reservoir, Blythe Waters, Boddington Reservoir, Naseby Reservoir, Drayton Reservoir, Kiveton Waters, Harthill Reservoir), paddle sport licensing, and a network of visitor attractions with museums, gift shops, and cafes. Education and community engagement are delivered through the Explorers primary school program, STEM Learning Programme for secondary schools, Let's Fish! coaching events, Waterway Wanderers permits, and the Towpath Taskforce volunteer program. Major 2026 partnerships include the Grand Union Canal Transfer (GUCT) scheme with Affinity Water and Severn Trent (up to 115 million litres/day of recycled water transfer), a 70-apartment extra care housing development with Housing 21 at the Britannia Mill site in Atherstone, and ongoing collaboration with Defra and APHA on wildlife surveillance.

Revenue mechanics span six streams: an annual government grant of £52.6 million (approximately 22% of total income), supplemented by a £6.5 million one-time resilience funding announced February 2026; boat licensing fees scaled by boat length and width on annual subscriptions with prompt-payment and online discounts; mooring subscriptions (long-term, winter, and short-stay visitor) with eight price bands for winter moorings; fishing permits and match bookings on unit-pricing (£3–£42 per session); donations and fundraising including Friends monthly giving, legacies, Grand Canal Raffle, and corporate partnerships; and retail merchandise via an online shop. The customer base is highly fragmented across individual boaters, anglers, walkers, cyclists, schools, heritage visitors, and vulnerable boaters served by a dedicated Welfare Team, with government as the single largest funding counterparty whose support is scheduled to decline 5% from 2027.

Name

Canal & River Trust

Legal name

Canal & River Trust

Website

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Milton Keynes

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Annual government grant of £52.6 million representing approximately 22% of annual income. Additional £6.5 million announced for infrastructure resilience projects.
2. Boat Licensing: Fees calculated by boat length and width, with online and direct payment options. Includes long-term and short-term visitor licences.
3. Moorings: Long-term permanent moorings (Waterside Mooring brand), short-stay visitor moorings, winter moorings, and end-of-garden moorings. Approximately 3,600 berths across 300+ sites.
4. Fishing Permits and Match Bookings: Commercial fisheries at Clattercote Reservoir, Blythe Waters, and other locations with daily permits, concessionary rates, and match booking services.
5. Donations and Fundraising: One-off donations, monthly giving (Friends scheme), legacy gifts, fundraising challenges, and Grand Canal Raffle. Corporate partnerships and philanthropy programs.
6. Retail and Merchandise: Online shop for boat keys, cards, and merchandise. Proceeds support waterway preservation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Canal & River Trust is a registered charity that maintains approximately 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England and Wales. Its core services include boat licensing through an online portal, long-term and short-stay moorings across roughly 300 sites, commercial fishing operations, visitor attractions (museums, boat lifts, aqueducts), educational programs for schools, and volunteer-led towpath maintenance.

Product overview

Canal & River Trust operates as a single unified charitable offering focused on maintaining and managing approximately 2,000 miles of historic canals and rivers across England and Wales. The product portfolio centers on boat licensing and mooring services through the Licensing Portal and Waterside Mooring website, complemented by commercial fisheries operations (Clattercote Reservoir, Blythe Waters, and others), and visitor attractions including Anderton Boat Lift, National Waterways Museums, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Standedge Tunnel, Foxton Locks, and The Canal Museum. Educational programs include the Explorers youth education initiative and STEM Learning Programme, while community engagement is facilitated through the Towpath Taskforce volunteer program. Fishing access is provided through Let's Fish! coaching, Waterways Wanderers permits, and licensing of fishing rights to angling clubs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 1000+ nature sites recognized for wildlife habitat value
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Housing 21coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 May 2026Not-for-profit extra care provider partnership for 70-apartment development for people aged 55+ at historic Britannia Mill site in Atherstone. Trust collaboration required for partial canal closure management during demolition and construction works.
• Deeley ConstructionminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 13 May 2026Construction company carrying out demolition work at historic Britannia Mill hat factory site, partnered with Housing 21 for extra care development project.
• Affinity WatercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026Partnership for Grand Union Canal Transfer (GUCT) scheme - major water recycling and transfer project transferring up to 115 million litres of advanced-treated recycled water per day from Minworth Wastewater Recycling Centre through canal network to water-stressed South East regions.
• Severn TrentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026Partnership for Grand Union Canal Transfer (GUCT) scheme - major water recycling and transfer project transferring up to 115 million litres of advanced-treated recycled water per day from Minworth Wastewater Recycling Centre through canal network to water-stressed South East regions.
• Swansea Canal SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive restoration partnership working to restore the Swansea Canal. Society holds regular volunteering days and operates canoe/kayak hires on Sundays during summer from Coed Gwilym Park, Clydach.
• People's Postcode LotteryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCharity lottery partnership generating donations from lottery players to support waterways conservation and maintenance programs.
• Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment department collaborating with Trust on investigating mass swan deaths in London waterways. Testing being conducted with Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) for bird flu outbreak determination.
• Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment agency conducting tests on dead swan carcasses and implementing wild bird surveillance protocols in collaboration with Canal & River Trust following mass die-off in London.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/canalrivertrust
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/canalrivertrust
• Facebookfacebook.com/canalrivertrust
• Instagraminstagram.com/canalrivertrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/canal-and-river-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Canal & River Trust