In 2016, we were approached by an existing customer whose requirements were to build a floating home.
Our partnership with this customer started in 1991, and we have since manufactured hundreds of residential and holiday homes. As a trusted partner and supplier they approached us with the project.
At the time, this was not part of our expertise and consequently, our customer looked into other suppliers from the UK and abroad. It wasn't long until they realised reaching out to manufacturers in Europe was going to get pricey transport costs and language barriers were all in the mix of reasons they changed their plans to provide the contract to a manufacturer nearer to their site. As a result, further discussions continued with Prestige, and the park group decided to bring on board a specialist marine designer and engineer to work alongside our Head of Design. The rest is history; we built our first floating home 2016.
Image: First Floating Home Built at Prestige’ Factory, Rushden, Northants.
Image: Prestige Floating Home Interior
Innovation is in Prestige's DNA, and Silvano (Chairman) immediately identified an untapped market where we had the potential to fill the gap of volume manufacturing of floating homes in the UK, and so our journey began. Silvano and Head of Design, Andrew Chick, embarked on research in floating homes not just in design but to gain knowledge on the best floatation devices and systems. What better place to start than a trip to Holland, a country that has been building houseboats and floating homes for years.
It wasn't long after this when we were approached by one of the largest groups of inland marinas in the UK, Aquavista. They were having quality issues with their current supplier in Poland and Prestige homes' style, quality and primarily innovation were the reason Aquavista had contacted us. Darren Bramhall, former Operations Director of Aquavista, now business owner of
Homes on Water initiated the project. His 16 years of experience and knowledge in the marina business were instrumental in driving the project forward from concept to completion.
In order to achieve the required outcome, we had to look into ways of combining our timber-framed homes with a floatation device that could withstand the load and offer longevity. Solent Marine, manufacturers of pontoons and access bridges, provided the perfect solution and exclusively designed the pontoon and floatation system for the homes in Priory Marina.
Image: Pontoon designed by Solent for Priory Marina
Image: Solent, Floatation system - Concrete floats use both a fiber-glass grid in the mix and steel meshing.
Since the Aquavista project, we have certainly seen an appetite for floating homes. This aspirational living is becoming the new trend, a hybrid home suitable for residences, a second home retreat, and alternative hotel accommodation. Today, we believe that we are the UK's largest manufacturer of floating homes, having manufactured 13 floating homes and many more in the pipeline and many exciting projects behind the scenes, including floating hotels.
Prestige Floating Hotel Concept
We understand that floating homes are a grey area for many parks and marinas that want to explore the potential of utilising their water space for extra revenue. After having successfully built and installed many floating homes in the UK, our knowledge and close relationships with industry partners,
Homes on Water and
Solent offer a convenient customer solution from concept, innovation, design and delivery, making the entire process for our clients as straightforward as possible.
To find out more about how to develop your water space, please get in touch
[email protected],
Get an insight into the customer journey, watch
More4 series of 'My Floating Home' Series 3, episode 3, following the story of a couple that downsized from South Africa to a floating home at Bedford priory marina.