What The Excelsior Trust does

The Excelsior Trust is a UK registered charity (Charity Number 285899, Company Number 01670772) founded in 1983 and headquartered at Harbour Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk. It operates and preserves a fleet of historic vessels led by Excelsior LT472, a 1921 Lowestoft fishing smack that is one of only 202 ships on the UK National Historic Fleet, and the trust was the first UK sail training charity to win the Sultan Qaboos Sailing Trophy in 2024. Its core products are experiential sailing voyages — youth development programmes (notably the 'Harbouring Potential' initiative for 16–25 year olds), group voyages, Duke of Edinburgh Gold Residentials, Classic Sailing Days, corporate team-building voyages, exclusive hire, and filming/location hire — supplemented by an Excelsior Heritage Centre that combines traditional maritime crafts (shipwrighting, ropework, sailmaking) with digital heritage tools (3D scanning, photogrammetry, AI-assisted archiving).

The trust runs a hybrid go-to-market spanning community-led referral through schools, youth charities and volunteer networks; event-driven acquisition via Tall Ships Races and European maritime festivals; and direct-to-consumer booking through its website and phone sales for individuals, corporates and film clients. Its revenue model is multi-stream: per-voyage sailing programme fees, corporate/team-building engagements, exclusive and venue hire, merchandise sales via an online store, yard services (slipway up to 200 tonnes, berths, shipwrighting, blacksmith, metal fabrication, tenancy), and donations including the John Miller Travel Bursary, Philip Reader Youth Sailing Fund and 'Friends of Excelsior' regular giving programme.

Operational infrastructure includes a two-acre heritage yard acquired in 2000 with European Regional Development Fund and East of England Development Agency support, a secondary sailing departure at Ipswich Beacon Marina, and a small staff of 14 (5 professional crew plus management and volunteers) under Trustee & CEO Gerry Skews. Customers span disadvantaged youth, schools and youth groups, corporate/military teams, individuals and private groups, and the creative industries, with no disclosed anchor enterprise client and no public revenue figure.

Name

The Excelsior Trust

Legal name

Excelsior Trust

Website

https://theexcelsiortrust.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Excelsior Trust is a UK maritime heritage charity operating the 1921 historic vessel Excelsior LT472, delivering youth development voyages, sailing experiences, corporate team building, heritage craft training, and yard services from its Lowestoft base.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Heritage and Sail Training Services

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721), Ship and Boat Building (3366), Marinas (71393)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Sailing Experiences (Lessons, Regattas, Day Sails) (THAJAJAG)

Keywords

• Sail training programmes
• Youth development sailing
• Maritime heritage preservation
• Heritage vessel restoration
• Traditional boatbuilding training

Headquarters

HQ city

Lowestoft

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sailing Programme Fees: Revenue from youth voyages, group voyages, experience days, day sails, and individual bookings. Pricing varies by programme type and duration, with group discounts available.
2. Corporate Team Building: 2-3 day corporate team development voyages including food and overnight accommodation. Sold directly to corporate, local authority, and military clients.
3. Venue and Filming Hire: Exclusive hire of Excelsior for events, deck parties, corporate functions (up to 30 on deck), and filming/location hire for film and TV productions.
4. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including clothing through online store (Teemill platform) and book sales (City of Edinboro book at £15).
5. Donations and Bursary Funding: Charitable donations including General Donations, John Miller Travel Bursary, Philip Reader Youth Sailing Fund, City of Edinboro restoration fund, and 'Friends of Excelsior' regular giving programme.
6. Yard Services Revenue: Income from vessel slipping, lifting, berths, dry storage, shipwrighting, engineering, blacksmith, metal fabrication, and tenancy services at the heritage yard.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Excelsior Trust is a UK registered charity that provides life-changing sailing experiences aboard the historic 1921 Lowestoft fishing smack Excelsior LT472, including youth development voyages, group voyages, Duke of Edinburgh Gold Residential voyages, corporate team-building, and day-sail experiences. The trust also operates a two-acre heritage yard offering vessel slipping, shipwrighting, and metalwork services, and runs the Excelsior Heritage Centre combining traditional craft training (boatbuilding, ropework, sailmaking) with digital heritage documentation. Activities are funded by sailing programme fees, corporate bookings, venue/filming hire, merchandise sales, and charitable donations.

Product overview

The Excelsior Trust operates a portfolio of heritage sailing and maritime training services centred on its flagship vessel, Excelsior LT472 — a 1921 Lowestoft fishing smack. The offering spans experiential programmes (voyages, day sails, team building, DofE awards), educational services (heritage skills training, digital heritage centre), venue hire (filming, events, exclusive charter), and marine services (yard facilities, slipway, restoration). These services collectively serve youth development, community engagement, and maritime heritage preservation objectives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Group Voyages 2-5 day sailing voyages designed for schools, youth groups, and charities, enabling participants to experience hands-on sailing aboard the historic wooden smack Excelsior while developing teamwork, communication, and interpersonal skills. Welcomes students with autism, mobility issues, and other SEN requirements.
• Classic Sailing Days Day sail experiences (typically 10am-4pm) departing from Lowestoft and Ipswich where participants get hands-on with sailing the historic 1921 vessel, including raising sails and taking the tiller, with refreshments and lunch provided.
• Exclusive Hire Bespoke private charter of Excelsior for full days at sea, deck parties, corporate functions, anniversaries, and exclusive celebrations, accommodating up to 12 people afloat with buffet lunch included (age 14+). Also offers up to 3-hour deck hire for meetings, learning, arts activities, yoga, or mindfulness.
• Corporate Team Building 2-3 day residential team development voyages for corporate, local authority, and military teams where participants assume responsibility for sailing the vessel under professional crew supervision, with a post-voyage review of team dynamics.
• Duke of Edinburgh's Award Voyages Five-day team-based residential voyages that meet the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Residential requirements, with full training, supervision, and hands-on sailing experience aboard the historic Excelsior LT472.
• Film and Location Hire Hire of the historic sailing vessel Excelsior as an authentic filming and location for film, TV, and documentary productions, available as a static or moving vessel with up to 15 people afloat.
• Excelsior Heritage Centre Training Hands-on training in traditional maritime crafts such as boatbuilding, shipwrighting, ropework, and sailmaking, combined with modern digital heritage documentation skills including 3D scanning, photogrammetry, and digital archiving.
• Heritage Yard Services Marine and heritage services for vessel owners at the two-acre heritage yard in Lowestoft, including vessel slipping and lifting (up to 200 tonnes), berths, dry storage, shipwrighting, engineering, refit and restoration, blacksmith, metal fabrication, sailmaking, and tenancy.
• Merchandise Store Online merchandise store offering branded clothing (via Teemill) and publications including the book 'City of Edinboro' by Peter J Norton.
• Artists Residencies Creative programme offering artists the opportunity to live and work aboard the historic vessel Excelsior, drawing inspiration from the sea, crew, and ship during voyages.
• Harbouring Potential Youth Programme Flagship youth development programme targeting young people aged 16-25, particularly those who are disadvantaged, at risk, in care, or involved in offending behaviour, combining personal growth, traditional and digital skills training, and seaborne challenges through residential voyages.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 11,000 young people transformed through sailing experiences since 1983
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• NorthSEAfaring ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003Consortium of similar organisations from around the North Sea Region. The trust participated in a spatial planning study of redundant waterfrontages under Interreg III B programme, funded by European Regional Development Fund and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
• The Shaw TrustminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2002Supported by Single Regeneration Budget to modernise yard facilities including covered training areas and disabled facilities, ensuring steady stream of trainees.
• Andrea JensenminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Danish seiner built in 1939 that the trust briefly operated alongside Excelsior for a short time in 1999, expanding sailing capacity.
• George Prior Engineering Ltd.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1985Provided yard facilities for the total rebuild of Excelsior between 1985-1989. Essential infrastructure support for the restoration project.
• Manpower Services CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1985Government work-experience scheme supporting the labour force for Excelsior's restoration. 117 people went through the scheme with majority going on to full-time employment.
• Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht ClubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue for regular social fundraising events for supporters. Located in Lowestoft, supports the trust's community engagement and fundraising activities.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Sea Cadets: Large UK maritime youth development charity with broad water-based adventure activities for ages 10–18 — comparable youth development outcomes and maritime training, but much larger scale and broader scope than heritage sailing.
• UKSA (United Kingdom Sailing Academy): Major UK youth sailing charity and training centre on the Isle of Wight providing sailing courses, watersports, and youth development programmes — comparable mission and broad sailing education portfolio, but operates at significantly larger scale and broader curriculum.
• Sailors' Society: International maritime welfare charity supporting seafarers and maritime heritage — comparable maritime charity positioning and broader welfare/heritage mission overlap with The Excelsior Trust's heritage preservation work.

Direct peers

• Jubilee Sailing Trust: UK sail training charity operating two tall ships (Tenacious and Lord Nelson) to provide inclusive sailing experiences for people of all abilities — directly comparable mission, target audience (including disabled participants), and revenue model to The Excelsior Trust.
• Tall Ships Youth Trust: UK-based sail training charity providing personal development voyages for young people on board traditionally rigged vessels — directly comparable youth development, DofE, and corporate voyage offerings to The Excelsior Trust.
• Ocean Youth Trust Scotland: Scottish sail training charity offering personal development voyages for young people aged 12–25 on sailing vessels — directly comparable youth outcomes, vessel-based programme model, and charitable structure.
• The Cirdan Sailing Trust: UK sail training charity providing voyages for young people aged 14–25 aboard the tall ship Doris — directly comparable small-charity youth sail training model and revenue streams (voyages, corporate hire, donations).
• Turn to Starboard: UK charity using sailing to support armed forces personnel and their families — comparable small charity using sailing as a vehicle for personal development outcomes and is connected to The Excelsior Trust through administrator Francesca Kitto-Jones's circumnavigation fundraising.

Emerging players

• Classic Sailing: UK broker offering sailing holidays and voyages on classic and traditional vessels — comparable heritage/experiential sailing product and customer base (individuals seeking traditional sailing experiences).

Others

• Sail Training International: Industry association that runs the Tall Ships Races and awarded Excelsior Trust the 2024 Sultan Qaboos Sailing Trophy — comparable industry context and the convener of the international sail training ecosystem in which Excelsior operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/excelsior-trust-the-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 The Excelsior Trust