Floataway

What Floataway does

Floataway is a privately held, family-owned British manufacturer of hand-crafted floatation equipment, founded in 1999 by Chartered Engineer Colin Stanwell-Smith and operated through Floataway INT'L Limited (Registered in England No. 14341476). The company designs, engineers, and builds a portfolio of float tanks, pods, cabins, and open pools — including the original Tranquility Float Pod, Cabin ForOne and Cabin ForTwo, the Open Floataround (8 ft) and Serenity Pool (10 ft), modular technical packs (TP1500 and TP3000), an Interface Panel, and the Float Rescue Board. Core engineering differentiators include modular/bonded construction methods that allow pools to be transported through standard doorways and stairways, precision temperature control to ±0.1°F, vibration isolation for use adjacent to MRI scanners, UV-peroxide disinfection with reverse-osmosis filtration, and HEPA-filtered air circulation — features that also made the equipment usable in clinical float-REST research at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR) in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The business monetises through one-time custom-quoted hardware sales (50% deposit pre-manufacture, balance pre-delivery), design consultancy and on-site installation, individually priced recurring service contracts, and a spares/consumables stream (filters, chemicals, parts). Go-to-market was a consultative, sales-led model executed directly from Floataway UK (Deopham, Norfolk) and Floataway USA (Tulsa, Oklahoma, established 2017), with UK customers also offered lease financing at roughly £100–£150 per week per pool over three years. End customers comprise commercial float centres and spas (the primary B2B segment), medical/research institutions, and bespoke private clients. By late 2019 the company reported more than 600 pods, pools and cabins installed across six continents and 50+ countries. As of 2026 Floataway is no longer accepting new sales or projects: founder Colin Stanwell-Smith died in January 2026, Design Manager Toby Stanwell-Smith departed in early 2026, and operations are limited to concluding existing matters.

Name

Floataway

Legal name

Floataway INT'L Limited

Website

https://floataway.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Floataway is a UK-based, family-owned manufacturer of hand-crafted floatation equipment including tanks, pods, cabins, and open pools. It served commercial wellness operators, private clients, and medical research institutions globally before winding down new sales in 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Float tank / pod / cabin / pool sales (one-time hardware): One-time sale of hand-crafted float tanks, pods, cabins, open pools, technical packs (TP1500, TP3000), and Float Rescue Boards. Each system is built to order with custom specifications. 50% deposit required before manufacturing commences; balance due in advance of delivery. Customers paid in full before ownership transfers.
2. Design consultancy and installation services: Comprehensive design consultancy and implementation service for organisations, companies, and individuals. Services include project visualisation through to completion, technical advice, part specification, custom float room design with technical support, technical water systems for contractors to self fit, and on-site design and installation. Individually priced per customer.
3. Service contracts and maintenance: Recurring service contracts individually priced for each customer. Service visits outside of any service contract are individually priced. Floataway can extend warranty under service contract terms. Annual inspections and regular service required.
4. Replacement parts and consumables: Spare parts (filter cartridges, chemicals, cables, hoses, etc.) supplied to existing customers or their appointed agent. Charged at current price plus delivery and packaging. Filters (disposable) typically last 30 float sessions; chemicals (chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, bromine) added daily.
5. Trademark / design rights licensing (IP): Copyright, design rights, and all intellectual property rights associated with Floataway products and the Floataway trademark belong to Cosine Limited. Floataway is a Registered Trade mark of Floataway International Limited.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Floataway designs and manufactures hand-crafted floatation tanks, pods, cabins, rooms, open pools, technical packs (water filtration/heating systems), and the Float Rescue Board safety device. Products are built to order using high-quality materials and engineered salt-water circulation, filtration, heating, and disinfection systems, sold primarily to commercial float centre operators, medical/research institutions, and private clients worldwide.

Product overview

Floataway was a design-led British manufacturer of hand-crafted floatation equipment with a product portfolio organised around four families of offerings: enclosed pods and cabins (Tranquility Float Pod, Cabin ForOne, Cabin ForTwo, plus their supporting Cabin Technical Pack), open-format float pools (Open Tranquility, Open Pool ForOne, Open Pool ForTwo, the 8 ft Open Floataround, and the 10 ft Serenity Pool), modular technical packs (TP1500 and TP3000) and an Interface Panel for pool servicing, and a Float Rescue Board safety device for centre operators. The closed pods/cabins integrate technical components within the structure or via a dedicated cabin technical pack, while the open pools rely on the separate TP1500/TP3000 technical packs and were the company's flagship offering for both commercial centres and clinical/research installations such as LIBR. The company has wound down new sales and projects and is now concluding existing matters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Floataway Tranquility: The original Floataway float pod product line, including the Tranquility Float Pod and the Open Tranquility open-format variant.
• Floataway Cabin
• Floataway Floataround
• Floataway TP1500 / TP3000
• Floataway Float Rescue Board

Products and services

• Tranquility Float Pod The original Floataway product — a hand-crafted enclosed float pod with technical components integrated within the structure, removing the need for a separate technical pack.
• Cabin ForOne A single-user rectangular float cabin with satin-finished wall panels in a range of colours and frosted glass double doors, suited to installations with limited space.
• Cabin ForTwo A wider rectangular float cabin designed to accommodate two users for couple floating, requiring a separate rectangular technical pack.
• Open Tranquility An open-format version of the Tranquility design creating an open float environment without a separate technical pack; curved form allows transport through standard doorways and stairways.
• Open Pool ForOne A rectangular open float pool for single-user use, based on a modified Cabin ForOne design; can be constructed with removable side panels or integrated into the room design.
• Open Pool ForTwo

Quantifiable outcome

• Installed in 300+ centres by 2018; manufactured 600+ units across 6 continents and 50+ countries.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFloataway collaborated with LIBR to support the development of advanced float environments for medical research. Floataway supplied the Open Floataround pool (the 'Tranquility Pool' at LIBR) - the only round circular float pool in the world - which has been used in clinical research since 2014 by Dr. Justin Feinstein. Justin Feinstein served as the former Director of the Float Clinic & Research Center (FCRC) at LIBR. Floataway's role is explicitly limited to equipment supply; it has no role in study design, study funding, data collection, data analysis, or reporting of results, and Dr. Feinstein has no financial interest or investment in Floataway.
• Clinical Floatation (clinicalfloat.org / clinicalfloatation.com)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe CLINICAL FLOATATION website provides an overview of Floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy) technology, featuring Floataway products prominently. Linked from Floataway's medical page and used to promote clinical applications of Floataway's open pool designs.
• Cosine LimitedflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCosine Limited owns the copyright, design rights and all intellectual property rights associated with Floataway products and the Floataway trademark in relation to floatation products. Cosine Limited is Colin Stanwell-Smith's original consultancy company established in 1983. Floataway is the operating/trading vehicle for these IP rights in the floatation space.
• Victory InnovationsminorOthersRecommended by Floataway for electrostatic fog spraying equipment used for COVID-19 disinfection of float centres during the pandemic. Hand-held equipment combined with Bioesque disinfectant identified as effective for killing the coronavirus.
• Bioesque SolutionsminorOthersRecommended by Floataway in combination with Victory Innovations electrostatic fog spraying equipment for COVID-19 disinfection of float centres during the pandemic.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Direct peers

• Float Star: Australian float tank manufacturer producing float pods and cabins with focus on commercial operators; competes with Floataway in the Asia-Pacific region and offers a similar direct-to-operator sales model.
• Royal Spa: US-based manufacturer of float tanks and float rooms for wellness and commercial spa operators, selling directly to a comparable SMB customer base as Floataway.
• DreamScape Float Rooms: US manufacturer of float rooms and float tanks (the DreamScape Float Room), competing head-to-head with Floataway's Cabin ForOne/ForTwo and Tranquility lines for commercial installations.
• Zen Float Co. (Zero Gravity Float): US float tank and float room manufacturer that pioneered plug-and-play commercial float tanks; competes with Floataway in the US commercial float centre market.
• Tranquility Float: North American float tank and float room manufacturer offering commercial-grade floatation systems; directly comparable to Floataway's commercial product range.
• i-sopod: UK-based designer and manufacturer of floatation tanks (i-sopod and Evolution pods) and cabins for commercial and residential use, making it the closest geographic and product-line competitor to Floataway.
• Superior Float Tanks: US manufacturer of float tanks, pods, and technical equipment for the commercial float industry, with overlapping product categories and customer base to Floataway's TP-series technical packs and pods.
• Samadhi Tank Company (now part of Superior Float Tanks): US-based float tank manufacturer offering a comparable range of enclosed float tanks and pods to commercial float centres, directly competing with Floataway's Tranquility and Cabin product lines.

Others

• Innerstellar / Float Conference: Industry trade body and conference organiser for the global float industry; ecosystem participant that channels customer demand to manufacturers like Floataway, useful as an industry context peer.

Emerging players

• Sensory Cloud: US company commercialising sensory-deprivation and floatation-adjacent technology (perceptual technology) for wellness and clinical use, partially overlapping Floataway's clinical/research customer segment.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/floatawayuk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

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 Floataway