Tingdene’s prepped-boat strategy speeds up used sales

For a used-boat buyer, the gap between finding a boat they like and actually buying it can involve surveys, remedial work and another round of price negotiations. Tingdene is trying to remove some of that uncertainty by putting more work into boats before they reach the sales pontoon.

Guy Girling, boat sales executive for Tingdene, says the company’s boat sales are picking up again after “a big drop-off” in August.

“One of the big things that Tingdene now do is try and get every vendor to get the boat lifted, surveyed, polished, antifouled, serviced  – fully prepared  – before we put it on the pontoon.”

“Purchasers love the idea because they don’t have to wait for a survey and then renegotiate, or anything like that,” he says, speaking to MIN at Southampton International Boat Show.

Keeping boats and berths together

This strategy is being rolled out across the group. All boat sales on Tingdene’s marinas fall under its own banner.

“We have our own marinas and we have our own boat sales offices within each marina. The whole idea is to get the boats sold, and keep them on the marinas.”

The sales to berth strategy is an approach that the company’s taken for about 25 years.

“The thing is with contractor boat sales companies, they’re not interested in selling our berths,” continues Girling. “Whereby if we’re all one, we’re all working together.”

Now the fully-prepped sales technique, which began during covid, is being utilised widely and Girling says the buying process has eased. Buyers come down, like the boat, see the survey, and buy the boats.

That said, some vendors can take a bit of persuasion to invest. “But once they see the other boats are all done, then they tend to get theirs done as well.”

Targeting new boaters

The company has 12 marinas in the UK – predominately inland – and lists around 200 boats secondhand, ranging in price from £10,000 to around about half a million. Ninety per cent of the boat sales business is second hand sales, but Girling’s very keen to expand the 10 per cent of new sales.

“The one big thing with new [boat sales], is it brings new boaters in, who are then new berth holders.” He says that used boat sales tend to ‘churn round’ existing berth holders “so the new boats is what we’re trying to push.” This means the company’s focusing on smaller boats sales to help bring new boaters in.

Rebel Ribs expands across the group

Sales-wise, the company’s recently taken on Rebel Ribs. When Tingdene bought Farndon Marina last year, it was a Rebel Ribs dealer. That relationship’s been spread out across all the Tingdene locations. The marina groups also sells Delphia (Groupe Beneteau) and its 10, 11 and a 12-metre boats.