Simon Barker takes sole control of Ownaship

by Mike Rose on 3 Sep 2011
Previous Ownaship managing director Simon Barker and his wife Donna are now the new owners of popular fractional boat ownership company, Ownaship.

Ownaship, which was founded in 2007 with a single second-hand trailerboat, now boasts an entirely new-boat fleet of nine vessels, including luxury launches, cruising yachts and 6- and 7-metre powerboats.

'Ownaship is currently enjoying a renewed surge in popularity as summer approaches and people realise that they can enjoy all the benefits of boat ownership, with none of the hassles, for a fraction of the price of a new boat,' says Simon Barker.

Since taking sole charge of the company, Barker has also been working on rebranding the company to better emphasise the benefits that Ownahsip offers.

'The new look is very like the Ownaship model: simple, effective and easy to understand,' he says. 'It allows us to simply and clearly state the key advantages of owning a boat the Ownaship way.

'As our new strap line says: ‘You do the boating we’ll take care of the rest’.'

With Ownaship, people buy a 10% share in a boat and get to enjoy 33 days on board every year.

'Research shows that most boat owners don’t use their boats any more than that, 'says Barker. 'The rest of the year the vessels just sit around on marinas or in driveways.

'More and more people are realising that that is not a good use of their hard-earned money, especially when the alternative is a care-free, hassle-free experience with 5-star service and all the maintenance, insurance and mooring or stowage taken care of, too.'

Due to increased demand from Kiwis keen to enjoy these Ownaship advantages, Barker is adding two more boats to his fleet.