“It’s real intelligence rather than artificial that’s been applied at this point,” says Andy Lewis, sales and marketing director at Premier Marinas. It’s being used to stitch together systems, staff and communities before the 2026 season begins – and after it ends.
Backed by the Wellcome Trust, the marina chain purchased boatfolk in September 2025, for an undisclosed sum. The deal has taken Premier from 11 marinas a year ago, to 22 as of 20 February 2026.
Now the ‘real intelligence’ is being applied to the integration of new employees, operating systems and ways of working with customers, learning from the past experience of both.
Doubling size adds location bridges for customers
Lewis says that Premier has been building its portfolio for many years, and the acquisition of boatfolk adds key locations. “It gives two bridging locations between the Solent and the West Country. Portland and Weymouth slot in very nicely.”
But to bring the marinas under the Premier banner is a little more complex than slotting them in. A deliberate decision’s been taken to integrate the boatfolk network slowly.
The “south coast batch” is being tackled before the season kicks in. “It’s not a process that you want to be doing in the heat of the season,” Lewis notes.
Retaining character of marinas
The integration began with Haslar “as a bit of a pilot.” That happened in December 2025 and went well – especially as it’s a big site with a lot of nuances and Premier is committing to preserve the individual character of each location.
“What we don’t want is 16 south coast sites that are all identical. That doesn’t really rock anybody’s boat.”
Rather than creating a uniform chain, Premier aims to combine shared service quality, boatyard capability and core marina functionality with distinct local identities. For cruising customers in particular, the ability to move around a network of different, but consistently run, sites is positioned as part of the offer.
Each marina’s appeal is shaped not just by geography but by the teams that run it, Lewis says, and notes – a few times – that retaining that local character is seen as commercially important. The strategy is to provide customers with choice within a consistent framework of operational standards.
Moving early on a significant site like Haslar helped validate systems, processes and training methods, Lewis explains.
The process, after a few refinements, is now being taken forward in East Cowes before Premier moves into Portland and Weymouth in early March. The ambition is to add Deacons before Easter. Then there’ll be a period of “tidying up off the back of that first wave” before the process starts again in the autumn – and the rest of boatfolk gets sucked into the fold.
The perils of price in coastal marinas
For boatfolk customers, costs will (in most cases) stay the same.
“We haven’t come in to ratchet the prices up. That’s not our game at all.”
Lewis continues: “Prices will go up, but they go up typically by inflation and that’s to help us maintain the marinas. Coastal marinas get eaten alive by weather and tide and the climate.
“It’s important that we continually invest in them, this year being probably a particular case in point because it’s been quite lively out there. Continued investment in those sites to maintain, and in many cases improve, them comes at a cost. So yes, pricing will rise but not disproportionately – and competition keeps us honest.”
Haven Star vs Harbour Assist: the systems challenge
Premier uses Haven Star as its marina operating system, while boatfolk sites use Harbour Assist. The two systems don’t integrate, so the priority is getting everyone onto a single platform. Migrating contracts and data across is complex and requires careful planning to ensure a seamless transition. At the same time as it happens, teams are being trained to ensure they’re confident using the new systems and can manage customer enquiries effectively.
Alongside the systems work, there’s updating uniforms, signage and branding – tasks that are more visible but, as Lewis points out, more straightforward.
“It’s a significant integration project. Previously we’ve acquired and integrated sites one at a time; this is a much larger step. That said, the teams are positive. We recently brought all the boatfolk marina managers together and there’s real excitement about the future. Premier has strong operational experience, and there’s also deep expertise within boatfolk. Bringing that together creates a very capable combined team.”
But what it’s not using to help the process – currently – is AI.
Lewis says the company takes a cautious, test-and-learn approach to new technologies, including artificial intelligence. He argues that because marina operations are fundamentally people-led, any AI would need to support – rather than dilute – the local, service-led nature.
Lessons from centralising call handling
A recent trial of centralised call handling illustrates that position.
Around 18 months ago, Premier explored whether inbound calls to individual marinas could be handled through a central function, rather than by on-site teams. Trialled for several months, the model ended up being scrapped. Why? Because customers contacting a marina expect to speak to someone with immediate local knowledge. On-site teams are more familiar with berth availability, yard activity and day-to-day operational conditions, and that proximity was judged to outweigh potential efficiencies from centralisation, he argues.
The approach recognises that marina management remains a relationship-driven business built on experienced teams and on-the-ground knowledge.
Stepping back from food, beverage and boat clubs
But what is making integration more straightforward is that boatfolk had already exited non-core trading activities, including food and beverage. The latter marina chain (which acquired Dean and Reddyhoff’s and Quay Marinas’ sites in April 2020) had taken direct operational control of F&B on its sites, as well as invested in other activities (like boatcare – an eco maintenance division – and boatpoint which offered brokerage services).
Lewis says Premier’s long-standing approach, based on its previous experiences, is to partner with specialist operators rather than run hospitality businesses in-house.
The strategy reflects a clear division of expertise. Marina management and hospitality require different skill sets – working with experienced third-party operators delivers better outcomes. Both businesses have also stepped back from directly operating boat share and boat club models.
Boatfolk’s membership-based operation, Beyonder which opened in May 2024, closed after maintaining a relatively small membership base, says Lewis.
Premier, meanwhile, operated Premier Agapi for around five years (it launched in 2020) as a way of understanding the boat club model and the operational requirements behind it. The club, in that form, closed at the end of December 2025. Agapi Boat Club, a global franchise business, now operates independently.
But while Premier has stepped back from direct management, it continues to view boat share and club models as part of the future boating landscape. Lewis describes the UK boat club market as still relatively immature but expects alternative access models to play an increasing role in how customers enter and experience boating.
Building a cruising network across the Solent and beyond
Now Lewis is positioning the enlarged network as a customer value play, arguing that expanded reciprocal access across 16 south coast sites strengthens both retention and competitive positioning. There’re benefits to be shared across the full south coast portfolio – and they work both ways for existing and newly enveloped berthholders – with increased cruising range, destinations (including the Isle of Wight) and access to things like discounted fuel, boatyard and boatlifting services (Lewis cites Gosport’s Endeavour Quay – home of MIN – as beneficial for Haslar bertholders).
Community, trust and the retention strategy
Premier’s strategic objective is straightforward: encourage more active boat use.
He believes that customers who use their boats more frequently are more likely to remain engaged in boating and to retain their berths. Increased network access is therefore framed not simply as a marketing message but as a retention strategy.
Beyond infrastructure and pricing, the company also acknowledges the importance of community. While customers purchase a berth, they are also choosing a location, a peer group and an operational team they trust. Many owners are not present every day, leaving valuable assets in the care of marina staff. That trust relationship is seen as central to long-term loyalty.
“They’re actually locating the boat in a place that’s special for them. You know, with like-minded boaters and with a marina operational team that they trust. You know, this is a significant asset.”
Premier’s also learning from boatfolk – specifically its strengths in community-building. It’s incorporating those practices across the enlarged portfolio.
While much of the integration work is operational and internal, the end goal is a strong external proposition to deliver destination range, service capability and customer benefits.
But it doesn’t end there.
Scanning the horizon for the next deal
“Our senior team are always scanning the horizon. If opportunities present in the right places, with the right products, for the right price, we may go again.
“The platform that’s been built is deliberately designed to be added to. It’s modular – that’s probably the best way of describing it. If we have opportunity, we can move quickly.”
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