Boats Group, the tech business behind the largest online marketplaces for boats and yachts in the world (Boat Trader, YachtWorld, boats.com, Cosas De Barcos, iNautia, Annonces du Bateau, Botentekoop), today announced they have acquired the leading boating marketplaces in England, BoatsandOutboards.co.uk and Boatshop24.co.uk, as well as the popular sister site in Germany, Boatshop24.com, from Friday Media Group. Adding the three portals to their growing portfolio of international sales platforms strengthens Boats Group with increased consumer engagement throughout Europe and reinforces the company’s focus on expanding its global footprint.
“England and Germany are major boating nations and represent important markets in the global leisure marine industry. Acquiring Friday Media Group’s leading online boating marketplaces was an attractive opportunity for us to widen our reach to more water enthusiasts and accelerate our international plan for growth,” said Sam Fulton, CEO, Boats Group. “We look forward to not only providing our newest partners with leading customer service and an expanded range of products that are proven to help sell more boats, but we are eager to offer more boating consumers around the world a world-class shopping experience.”
Boats Group’s marketplaces connect the largest global audience of boat buyers with sellers and manufacturers, and the company now begins technical upgrades and marketing investments to further enhance user experiences on the newly purchased platforms. For customers currently marketing inventory on BoatsandOutboards.co.uk, Boatshop24.co.uk or Boatshop24.com, this acquisition offers new access to more international markets as they now have the option to list and market boats on any Boats Group-owned portal around the world.
“We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Boats Group on this important transaction,” said Sam Kidger, CEO, Friday Media Group. “The development of our boating brands over recent years has been a big success story for FMG. In handing over the reins to Boats Group for their next successful chapter, we allow ourselves to focus and heavily invest in a streamlined set of strategic technology initiatives elsewhere in the organisation. It’s an exciting and significant day for our customers, Boats Group, and Friday Media Group!”
Media contact: press@boats.com