Click&Boat Accelerates Global Growth
Click&Boat, a leading boat rental platform in Europe, announced a significant investment by the global private equity firm Permira, supported by a partnership with Boats Group.
Founded in France in 2014, Click&Boat currently lists more than 40,000 boats in about 600 global destinations.
“This marks an exciting point in Click&Boat’s history and is another step in our ambition to become the number one player globally in the international boat rental market,” Edouard Gorioux, co-founder of Click&Boat, said in a statement. “Boats Group is a true leader within the online classifieds marketplaces for the recreational marine industry and, with the investment from the Permira funds, we have all the resource and support in place to continue our growth and success.”
In their strategic partnership, Boats Group and Click&Boat intend to build their online presence in the recreational marine industry through access to Boats Group’s pool of 20 million boating consumers every month, as well as through the boat-rental market in North America, where Boats Group has an established presence.
“As interest in boating continues to remain very strong, it has never been more important to diversify — and simplify — the path to getting on the water. Click&Boat’s platform makes the boat rental journey seamless and easy, and we are confident that this partnership will help accelerate its growth worldwide,” said Boats Group CEO Sam Fulton.
David Erlong, principal at Permira, added: “This transaction marks another positive and complementary step for our investment in the recreational marine industry.”
In January, Boats Group announced that a Permira Funds-backed company had acquired a majority stake in its online classified marketplace, which includes BoatTrader, boats.com and YachtWorld.
