News & Features

Boat hire and yacht charter marketplace, Borrow A Boat, has acquired Barqo, the Netherlands’ peer-to-peer boating marketplace.

The acquisition, a firm move into the European market, follows launches in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in 2021, as well as the acquisition of specialist charter brokerage Helm, and brings an additional 5,000+ boats to the marketplace, as well as a 100,000+ strong customer base.

Founded in 2014 by Thijs Janssen, Dennis van Kappen and Floris van Hoogenhuyze, Barqo is a Dutch peer-to-peer platform connecting water sports enthusiasts with both boat owners as well as traditional yacht charter companies across the globe, with the goal of making boating more accessible for all.

Borrow A Boat has access to over 35,000 boats in 65+ countries. Founded in 2016, the company has grown rapidly since formation, and has raised over £4.8m in capital from a mixture of crowdfunding, private investors, and venture capital investors. Borrow A Boat is now planning a potential IPO in 2022, which will be a world first for a boat charter marketplace.

Matt Ovenden, CEO and Founder at Borrow A Boat, says: “After a successful 2021, including securing over £1,000,000 in investment via crowdfunding, we’re thrilled to have kicked off the year with such a firm move into the European market. Barqo was founded with the same mission as Borrow A Boat – a team of boating enthusiasts keen to share the joy of boating by making it more accessible, affordable, flexible and inclusive for all, and so we’re looking forward to opening up boating to even more people worldwide. This acquisition further reinforces our position as one of the world’s leading yacht charter marketplaces and we’re looking forward to seeing what the rest of 2022 brings.”