Third quarter figures released at the end of September by one of the UK’s leading providers of marine finance, Bank of Scotland Marine Finance, confirm continued growth in lending in the marine leisure industry with a 23 percent increase on marine mortgage and unsecured marine loan business from 1 January – 30 September, compared to the same period last year.

The company’s new National Marine manager of Bank of Scotland, Peter Whitehead, commented: “The summer has been buoyant for us, with July substantially up on previous years. We normally expect some drop off in August as people tend to be boating themselves rather than buying boats, but figures this year were comparable to previous years. Southampton Boat Show was very good, with all indicators up on last year.”

The company claims that the number of enquiries was up 45 percent at the Southampton show, which took place from 14-23 September, compared to last year.

Global uncertainties in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the US may have an effect on business over the coming months, but there is still an element of consumer confidence that is driving some sectors of the leisure boat buyers,” said Whitehead.

“Equally, with interest rates at their most attractive for many years and a range of finance packages on offer, we are confident that we will convert many of the people we saw at the Southampton show into boat owners.”