Tue, 18 Sep 2012 | ADMINISTRATION
A company which offered canal boat transfers during the Olympics is due to enter administration.
Water Chariots offered luxury journeys by barge to the Olympic Park from either Tottenham Hale or Limehouse Marina.
However, the service only ran until the first week of the Paralympics due to a low level of interest from the public. Even after ticket prices were slashed from the original adult price of £95 to just £20, business failed to pick up.
Water Chariots promised that its 29 boats would deliver passengers to the park with champagne in hand while avoiding the dreaded queues. Unfortunately, barriers ended up being placed across the canal for security reasons, BBC London reported, meaning that passengers had to disembark and walk about a mile to actually get into the park.
Ultimately, the service only ran for 17 days during the Olympics, despite the business being given a 15-year licence to operate canal boats in the area based on its legacy plans to run self-hire vessels and a private charter service.
A statement from Water Chariot read: “The directors of Old Ford Lock River Services Limited (trading as Water Chariots) have applied to place OFLRS into administration following the failure of its Olympic and Paralympic canal boat service.
"The project failed due to materially lower than anticipated revenues and take up for the service, set against a high fixed-cost base. The company had been criticised for high prices, but the level of investment and cost base necessitated a high ticket price.”
It added: "No director or investor has received a single penny of return or income from this venture."
It is unclear what will happen to the fleet of boats and the company's other assets.
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