What boatshed does

Boatshed is a privately held, founder-controlled international yacht brokerage founded in 1999 by Neil Chapman and headquartered in Gosport, United Kingdom. The company operates an online brokerage and marketplace for new and used boats and yachts, including sailboats, motor boats, inland boats, and houseboats, serving primarily individual boat owners as buyers and sellers.

The platform is built around a centralized web-based brokerage system with comprehensive multimedia listings — every listed vessel is personally visited by a local broker who captures unlimited photography, video, and Google VR tours. The technology stack includes a real-time statistics dashboard (My Boatshed portal) for tracking listing performance, machine learning-based buyer-seller matching, social login authentication (Facebook, Google), and listings syndicated to YachtWorld, YachtMarket, and Apollo Duck. Mobile apps are available on iOS and Android. Complementary products include BoatBid, an online boat auction platform, and Boatshed Business, a franchise program.

Boatshed distributes through a franchise network of over 70 independently owned and operated brokerage offices in 18 countries, employing 150+ specialist brokers and franchisees. The revenue model is purely commission-based on completed transactions with a "no sale, no fee" policy; brokers operate on a revenue-share basis within the franchise structure. The platform reports over 1.3 million registered users, 280,000 unique monthly visitors, and 1,000+ boats sold per year, with over 30,000 boats dealt with cumulatively since inception. Boatshed has not raised external funding and is owned and controlled by its founder.

Name

boatshed

Legal name

Boatshed

Website

https://boatshed.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Boatshed is a founder-owned international yacht brokerage founded in 1999, operating a commission-based online marketplace across 70+ franchise locations in 18 countries, serving individual boat buyers and sellers with full-service brokerage, multimedia listings, and a network of 150+ local brokers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Gosport

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Broker Commission: Boatshed earns commission on boat sales completed through their platform. The commission-based model means no upfront cost to sellers - if the boat doesn't sell, no commission is charged. Brokers work on a revenue share basis within the franchise model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Boatshed operates an international yacht brokerage that connects individual boat sellers and buyers through the Boatshed.com online platform and a franchise network of 70+ branches in 18 countries with 150+ local brokers. The service covers the full transaction: pricing advice, listing creation with hundreds of photos, video, and VR tours, scheduling physical and virtual viewings, negotiation, and sale administration; brokers earn commission on completed sales under a "no sale, no fee" model.

Product overview

Boatshed operates as an international yacht brokerage platform built around a network of locally-based brokers and franchisees across 70+ locations in 18 countries. The core product is Boatshed.com, a web-based brokerage platform providing full-service boat sales support including professional listing creation with unlimited photography, video, and VR documentation, managed viewings (including virtual tours), buyer-seller matchmaking powered by machine learning, negotiation, and full transaction management. The platform is complemented by BoatBid — an online boat auction service — and Boatshed Business — a franchise model enabling new brokers to join the network. The platform's key differentiator is its comprehensive multimedia approach, with brokers personally visiting and documenting every listed vessel, and its global reach with over 1.3 million registered users across the network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Boatshed.com International Yacht Brokerage International yacht brokerage platform connecting individual boat buyers and sellers through a network of 70+ locations and 150+ local brokers worldwide, providing full multimedia listing packages (photography, video, VR), managed viewings, negotiation, and transaction facilitation on a commission basis.
• BoatBid Online boat auction platform enabling competitive bidding on boats listed through the Boatshed network; integrated into the main Boatshed platform and accessible via boatbid.com.
• Boatshed Business (Franchise Program)

Quantifiable outcome

• Sells boats twice as fast as the industry average
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• YachtWorldcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBoatshed lists boats on YachtWorld as part of their distribution strategy, reaching additional buyers through this partner platform.
• YachtMarketcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBoatshed lists boats on YachtMarket to expand reach to additional boat buying audiences.
• Apollo DuckcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBoatshed lists boats on Apollo Duck as part of their multi-platform listing strategy.
• British MarineminorOthersBoatshed is a full member of the British Marine Association, the trade body for the UK leisure marine industry.
• ICOMIAminorOthersInternational Council of Marine Industry Associations - Boatshed are full members.
• BRBAminorOthersBoat Retailers & Brokers Association - Boatshed are full members.
• MCAminorOthersMaritime and Coastguard Agency - Boatshed links to MCA as a partner resource. MCA produces legislation and guidance on maritime matters.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• YachtWorld: YachtWorld is the largest online yacht and boat listing marketplace globally. While it is also a syndication partner for Boatshed, it directly competes for the same buyer and seller traffic, making it the closest direct peer despite the cooperative relationship.
• Boat Trader: Boat Trader is a leading online boat marketplace in North America operated by Boats Group. It offers listings for new and used boats and competes head-on with Boatshed for online boat buyer traffic and brokerage leads.
• Denison Yacht Sales: Denison is a large international yacht brokerage with multiple offices and an online listing platform. It competes with Boatshed for both brokerage seller mandates and buyer inquiries, particularly in the U.S. and Mediterranean markets.
• United Yacht Sales: United Yacht Sales is a yacht brokerage and dealer network with offices along the U.S. East Coast. It offers a comparable multi-location, online-plus-broker model that competes for listings and buyers in the same used-boat segment Boatshed serves.
• Pop Yachts: Pop Yachts is a U.S.-focused online boat brokerage that lists and sells used boats through a national broker network. It targets the same individual boat buyer and seller customer segments as Boatshed and competes on commission rates and listing reach.
• HMY Yachts: HMY Yachts is a yacht sales and brokerage firm with multiple U.S. locations and an online listing presence. It operates in the same brokerage-plus-marketplace model and serves overlapping boat buyer and seller demographics as Boatshed.
• Rightboat: Rightboat is an online boat and yacht marketplace that aggregates listings from brokers and dealers worldwide. It competes directly with Boatshed for online visibility of used boat listings and is a similarly positioned digital-first brokerage platform.
• Apollo Duck: Apollo Duck is a long-standing online boat and small-craft listing site popular in the UK and Europe. Although it is also a syndication partner for Boatshed, it competes for the same online buyer traffic and offers an overlapping free-listing model.

Broad incumbents

• Boats Group: Boats Group is the broader marine marketplace operator that owns YachtWorld, Boat Trader, and boats.com. It is a scaled incumbent in the same online boat listing category that aggregates inventory across multiple platforms competing with Boatshed.

Emerging players

• Sailboat Listings: Sailboat Listings is a niche online marketplace focused on sailboat listings. It overlaps with Boatshed's sailboat segment and represents a smaller, category-focused emerging player that could grow into broader competition if it expands into powerboats.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/boatshedneil

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 boatshed