An update from the boatowners at the start of April 2026

There is a lot going on at the moment and a lot of information on the website, so we thought it would be helpful to summarise it here.  The info is accurate to the best of our knowledge and belief.

  • CYBC had been a quietly successful business for decades until Andrew and Charlotte Moffat bought it in Feb 2016 for £4.3m and began immediately to implement a new business plan, the nature of which is graphically described in the tax appeal they lost;
  • CYBC is entirely dependent on TopCo for funding and on 3 Nov 2025 TopCo went into administration with debts of about £100m.
  • The administrators first task was to persuade Crestline, the major lender, to pony up even more money to keep CYBC afloat (literally). Several million has already been spent since Nov trying to save CYBC from liquidation, proving that CYBC in its current form is not a viable business.
  • The Administrators Report dated 24 Dec 2025 states; “Errors were identified in both the short-term cashflow and management forecasts, raising concerns about the reliability of the information provided for the IBR and whether it accurately reflected the Group’s financial position. The Group incurred losses of £9.8m in FY24 and losses of £6.8m in the 8 months to May 2025 (YTD).”
  • The total amount demanded by the lender Crestline, including the make-whole amount, is £85.6m. This follows the purchase of 2 of the 4 trading companies for less than £10m. The 3rd was created by the Moffats and has done little to date. The 4th trading company simply collects rent.
  • The Administrators have confirmed it will not be possible to rescue any of the insolvent companies due to the scale of liabilities and secured debt.
  • In 2024 the PLA served more than one s70 notice on CYBC notifying them they are in breach of the River Works Licence and must remedy the breaches or face action, including having the RWL rescinded.
  • In 2025 CYBC applied to the Port of London Authority to extend the RWL. The application was not approved.  There is only 20yrs left on the current RWL (2046).
  • The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) owns the land and buildings at 106 Cheyne Walk which CYBC leases. In 2021 RBKC served a s25 notice saying it would not renew the lease.  A deal was done for a short extension while RBKC explore their plans for redevelopment of the site.
  • Ben Coleman MP is proactive and vocal in support of the boatowners against CYBC. On 2 Feb 2026 he said “Time to put houseboat owners in control. Our iconic houseboat community in Chelsea has long suffered from its predatory landlord, CYBC. Now CYBC’s parent company is in administration, owing a staggering £96 million. I’m concerned that the new directors are continuing with the previous approach – dealing with the Chelsea Reach houseboat owners one by one rather than as a group. The boat owners tell me they are ready to take over and run the moorings themselves to benefit the community. It is time to get away from excessive commercial interests and view this as a social asset.  I’ve made it clear to the Port of London Authority, which licenses out the moorings, that the boat owners have my full backing, as they do of the community across Chelsea”.
  • Our community has the support of RBKC and the local societies including the Chelsea Society and the Cheyne Walk Trust. RBKC Councillor Elizabeth Campbell said “I would be delighted to see houseboaters acquire the moorings at Chelsea Reach, with support from the Chelsea Society.  As Leader of the Council, I have backed houseboat owners, who have shown amazing tenacity and resolve in the face of threats to their homes, big fee increases and the arrival of mega boats.  Long-term security of tenure, protection from excessive licensing fees and services charges, and no more mega boats, would all be big wins for this special community and residents across Chelsea.”
  • Since 2018, we have collected over 10,000+ signatures on our #CommunityNotCommodity petition, including signatures from Graham Norton, Felicity Kendall & Suggs from Madness. Some of our residents have lived here since the 1970s and, just as they were then, our houseboats remain an important part of our local Chelsea community.

Do the math....

  • On 20 Oct 2022 the market rate for mooring licences was determined by an independent expert, A P Harris LLM FRICS FCIArb. Mr Harris determined that the rate for a vessel in the front row should be approx £478 per foot for a licence for ten years if it had no right to renew.  He determined that if there was a right to renew it would attract an additional 15%. 
  • Mr Moffat ignored Mr Harris and continued to try to sell licences for 10x the Harris rate . There are 60 berths.  In 2016 all 60 berths were occupied by boatowners paying fees to CYBC.  In 2026 there are empty berths because boatowners have removed their vessels rather than pay the unrealistic fees demanded by Mr Moffat. 
  • A large proportion of boatowners are sure that they have a solid enforceable collateral contract claim which means that CYBC would not be granted a possession order in court. CYBC has never been prepared to put it to the test.
  • Crucially, Mr Harris assessed the market rate for a mooring licence at a time when the boatowner was liable to pay CYBC an annual mooring fee at a rate of £138/ft and a maintenance charge at £88/ft. CYBC now charges considerably more; £239/ft/yr for mooring fees and £185.39/ft/yr for maintenance.  Common sense says that if Mr Harris was to be determining the cost of a ten year licence now, he would set the rate considerably below that which he did about three years ago, to reflect the fact that CYBC has increased mooring and maintenance fees to such an extent.  It is the total cost to moor at CYBC that any boatowner will want to know; what the different fees are called and how CYBC chooses to structure the fees is unlikely to matter nearly as much as the total cost.
  • One third of the boats at CYBC are 46’ boats which provide about 700sq ft of living space, equiv to a one bed flat. Since 2016, a person owning such a boat will have been required to pay CYBC more than £180k in service fees (called licence, mooring and maintenance fees).  Without any security of tenure, that is dead money.  Boatowners have none of the protections of leaseholders on dry land and no right to buy a share of the freehold.  As Mr Moffat has been keen to remind us over the last decade; “I own the mooring, you own your vessel”. 
  • In the six years prior to the Moffats buying CYBC in 2016, the annual maintenance charge increased from £59.95 to £72.31 per foot. That’s an average annual percentage increase of circa 3.26%. Boatowners did not dispute it.
  • Until 28 Sept 2026 (when no doubt it will be increased again) the maintenance charge is £185.39 per foot/yr on top of mooring and licence fees. Over the last 10yrs standards of maintenance at CYBC have declined in line with the reduction in staff. In the case brought by HMRC, Mr Moffat’s own KC said in submissions on his behalf that ‘in reality CYBC seeks to charge an uplift on the maintenance charge, the uplift being  a 35% margin”.  Our licences say that CYBC is not permitted to add a % to the actual cost, it should be a straight pass through.

Here’s a table showing a breakdown of fees for a 46’ boat.  The owner cannot sell as there is no sales market without security of tenure.  The owner is forced to rent and this table shows how costs do not cover the market rate rent. 

Boatowners are angry and you can see why.  They are not stupid and do not like being bullied.  After a decade of Moffat mismanagement, the boatowners’ residents association CRBA Ltd has a large membership and is stronger than ever.