Triangle Berth Brokers celebrates 30 years in Britian
by Susannah Hart 18 Aug 2020 19:39 BST
Triangle Internatinal Berth Brokers © Triangle Berth Brokers
Triangle Berth Brokers is celebrating its 30th year brokering long leases and annual berths for sailors, marinas and yacht captains in the UK and Europe. Based in Hampshire, the company is owned and operated by Nic and Marie Parton.
This year has been particularly busy for Triangle Berth Brokers as Covid-19 has substantially increased the number of boat owners returning to their home waters.
Boat owners are currently returning home looking for annual berths
"Quite a few British sailors are bringing their boats back to the UK due to travel restrictions," says Nic Parton, Triangle Berth Broker's managing director. "They just want to get a berth sorted out. We do that for them."
The business of berth brokering hasn't changed much in the last 30 years. It offers a no-nonsense, time-saving approach for those looking for berths. The company can collate, for example, all the annual berthing quotes on the Hamble, instead of an owner having to listen to a potentially time-consuming sales pitch from each marina.
"The boat market is full of diverse people including those who are cash-rich but time poor. We help save time," Nic says.
In the past few years, Triangle Berth Brokers has worked with owners looking to move to the Mediterranean. Whilst Greece has always been a popular destination, Triangle has found a big increase in enquiries for marinas in Montenegro, Spain and Turkey. The company draws on its years of experience to guide owners into the right marina for their needs, whether for an annual rental, or long lease.
Long-leases in the UK and across Europe
The company also offers independent advice to those wishing to invest in long-lease berths. That advice includes marina locations, best deals and opportunities for gaining returns - like sub-letting.
Long-leases were snapped up by owners who spotted their potential when they first came onto the market, marinas started offering them in the late 1960s. Since then, they've been a well-kept secret, changing hands through companies like Triangle Berth Brokers.
"It's like buying a house," says Nic who first encountered the long-lease boom when working for a marina on the south coast. "After the initial investment, people have to pay an annual service fee, but they get security and feel like part of the marina. Owning a long lease helps you fix your berthing costs and it doesn't take long to make good savings compared to paying annual berthing fees."
Longer leases are also popular in Europe, Nic says, with the Côte d'Azur and Balearic Islands pretty much 100% lease.
"The marina operator effectively becomes a service charge company, administering berths," Nic explains. "The only way to guarantee a berth in the most popular ports of the Med is buying one. For instance, if you want to stay in Palma you have to buy."
Nic says there are opportunities coming in the Côte d'Azur in the next year or two, as longer leases there come to an end, so now is the time to make that initial enquiry if the French Riviera appeals.
Other benefits of long leases, whether in the UK or abroad, can include fixed costs and the opportunity to sublet if owners want to take a couple of years out the water or to go cruising.
"Triangle Berth Brokers has spent 30 years building up the contacts and the expertise to make a change of marina as straightforward and enjoyable for our clients as we can. It doesn't cost boat owners anything extra, as all our costs are covered by the berth owner or marinas we select to work with," Nic says.
For more information on Triangle Berth Brokers, whether that's renting an annual or buying a long-lease berth, in the UK or Europe, visit triangleberthbrokers.com or email .