Self-drive boating holidays redefined

A new agreement between Le Boat and Groupe Beneteau under their Delphia brand in Poland will see Europe's largest boat rental company invest over £100m into its international fleet over the next ten years.

The deal will ensure travellers have an even greater range of options to choose from when planning their self-drive boating holidays and provides innovation to the current charter market as it stands. Of the 400 new Delphia boats slated to be built over the coming decade for Le Boat, 100 will be made in the next three years, including at least 25 in 2025. These orders will be a combination of the current Horizon range, plus 34 of a premium new one to two cabin boat, aptly named “Liberty” which will be launched in 2025. As part of the Luxury range, designed for premium comfort,  these new superior boats will be found on the canals and water ways of France including, Brittany, Lot, Alsace, Burgundy, Loire-Nivernais, Midi and the Camargue as well as the Thames, Germany and the Netherlands. 

In addition, the two industry leaders will also be developing a new industry-leading three to four cabin model for launch in 2027. This new model will be designed in collaboration with Le Boat and will have both private and charter variants; the charter version will be exclusive to Le Boat. They will include full air conditioning, a superior fly bridge and provide the most premium boating experience on the waterways.  

As part of this supply agreement, Delphia and LeBoat are also working to expand into the North American market using an innovative partnership that will allow for the development of new fleets and new locations for both charter holidays and boat sales.  

Speaking about the development, Cheryl Brown, Le Boat's Managing Director, said: “We're delighted to be building upon our long-standing relationship with Groupe Beneteau to support the next stage of Le Boat's growth journey. It will allow us to continue developing high quality river cruisers which our customer will love and enable us both to expand into North America. With these innovative new boats and stunning potential cruising grounds, this offers us a fantastic opportunity to grow both the charter and boat sales sides of our business.”   

For the Groupe Beneteau, this collaboration with Europe's leading boat rental company is a further step in its strategy to move upmarket and innovate for sustainable and accessible boating. By improving the customer experience in the yacht charter sector, the Group is responding both to new sailing expectations and to the growing demand of the sharing economy. 

Erik Stromberg, Vice-President of power and motor yachts for Groupe Beneteau added, “LeBoat has been a key partner for many years with the premier fleet of Horizon models.  This next step continues the supply of Horizon models, as well as a new co-developed boat to support Le Boat's charter business and boat ownership program.”   

The new Liberty boat range goes on sale from 06 June 2024 and will be available to sail from selected Le Boat bases in France, Germany, England and the Netherlands. Prices for seven nights start from £2,000 sleeping up to five people with two cabins and two bathrooms on a self-catering basis in July 2025.  No experience required. For more information visit www.leboat.co.uk  or call 023 9280 1630. 

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Media Contacts: Lynsey Devon lynsey@heavenpublicity.co.uk; 07717 078862 / 020 3763 5170. Or Rachel Johnston rachel@heavenpublicity.co.uk      

About Le Boat: 

Le Boat is the No.1 provider of inland water boating holidays in the UK, Europe, and Canada, bringing together more than 50 years of experience, expertise, and memories. The operator has a fleet of large self-drive cruisers, allowing entire families, and groups of friends, to stay on board and explore their chosen region. To cater for the growing popularity of Le Boat's ownership programme, the agreement will also enable customers to invest in the new top-of-the-range boats. The popular programme allows owners to enjoy guaranteed income whilst taking on average eight weeks' holiday every year on their own boat, or a sister boat across Le Boat's 17 cruising regions in Europe and Canada. Since 2016, Le Boat has seen a threefold increase in their boat ownership programme since their Horizon fleet was launched.