ALL ABOARD THE ARK RIVER BOAT FOR
PREMIER LIVE BANDS 9:00PM - MIDNIGHT THURS FRI SAT
OPEN MIC NIGHT WEDS 9-11PM
ROCK 'N' ROAST SUNDAYS 2PM-8PM
FINE WINES & REAL ALES AT ROCK BOTTOM PRICES
DELICIOUS SNACKS SERVED ALL NIGHT FROM 5PM
LICENSED & FULLY INSURED FOR 200 PASSENGERS


Welcome aboard the Ark

Live music has become more and more scarce as pubs have struggled with the recession, noise complaints and unfair supply ties and rents so we have come up with a new solution for you to see your favourite band while enjoying a good pint of real ale, some pleasant cocktails or a decent fine wine. Our prices are rock bottom because we have no ties or huge overheads as pubs do.

There are some phenomenally talented musicians and bands in the UK who are finding it increasingly difficult to find anywhere to perform their art and there is an enormous amount of like minded people who love to see them play and that is why the 'Ark' is being planned...to save live music from the flood of gastro pubs everywhere!

Our entertainment is mainly aimed at the over 30 age group and we will strictly restrict boarding to over 25's only.

LATEST NEWS


River Thames

Your Captain, the restaurateur and your hostess all have a great deal of experienced working with boats, bars, pubs, fine cuisine, gigs & live bands and the three of them look forward to welcoming you aboard very soon...

4 March
View more vessels. Appointments Tuesday 8 March in Hoo, Rochester Kent.
Spoke with moorings owner in Brentford permanent commercial mooring: Reserved for us in September. Awaiting planning permission for a bridge to be built from Lots Ait to the mainland.

1 March
Research legislation for commercial passengers boats on the Thames and Boat Masters Licence. Now have all documentation from MCA. Spoke with the Environment Agency. They offered a purpose built Landing Stage in Walton on Thames to collect our customers from and stated that we could get permission from other land/mooring owners and then let them know.

26 Feb 2010
Found the perfect vessel which is laying on the Thames in London's East End and selling for half it's real value as boats are at an all time low price right now. Unfortunately another cash offer of £68,000 was made on this vessel and accepted.

24 Feb 2010
We battled through bitter icy wind and driving rain on the Medway river and the River Thames to clamber on board some huge vessels today but it was worth it because we feel we may have found the ideal boat for our venture! The brewery are in full support and offering a fantastic deal to get us started. Next step is to meet with the MCA & Environment Agency to find out exactly what they require to certificate the boat for our purposes so we can work out the costs. We are on our way...keep watching this space!

Meanwhile, to show your support for our exciting new venture, join our Facebook group which now has 384 members:
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=315259955089&ref=mf

INVESTORS NOTICE

Having done a huge amount of market research we have discovered that there is a large percentage of the night life market who would like see live bands performing on a fully licensed boat with a capacity for 200 passengers on the River Thames west of London. Sound interesting? Well I am currently, together with a boat skipper, a retired Michelin star level restaurant consultant and a creative marketing whizz kid, in the process of setting this up.

We have decided to take this approach because we have given up on the greedy and ruthless pub companies who are currently destroying pubs and the live music scene. Also we could not find decent sized premises locally where there would be no noise complaints which is yet another nail in the coffin of the UK's live music & pub culture. On a fully licensed boat on the river we eliminate this problem and, because we will be free of tie and high rents & rates, we can offer fantastic entertainment & value for a huge market, currently not supplied, for far less than your average pub or music venue. The closure of so many pubs providing live music in this area means a huge gap in the market has opened up where the over 35 age group with disposable incomes have few places to go and see live music anymore. We intend to fill this gap with out the pub companies being involved and with far lower overheads than running the business from a licensed land based property.

We have been trying for a long time to establish a successful live music venue but have hit brick walls every time mainly due to the greed of the pub companies or the mismanagement of potential venues as well as a lack of funding available. However, this new solution has been received with huge enthusiasm by everyone we have been in touch with so far and this includes the authorities and councils who want to encourage more river use and even the breweries as they see the potential marketing value for themselves of advertising along the river! We have already been offered all the fixtures and fittings we may require for next to nothing by one major brewery which will drastically reduced our set up costs. Therefore, as we will now have total control on how we run the whole business, we are 100% positive we will be successful with this venture.

The professional and well travelled skipper on our team, who will live aboard, means we have the expertise to utilise the river and look after the boat. He also, coincidently, just happens to be an excellent barman and was formerly a professional sound engineer!

Our hostess has 20 years experience of booking live bands and 9 years experience in web design and internet marketing which is another set up cost eliminated. Formerly a publican she holds a personal licence with 9 years remaining and will live aboard as the designated premises supervisor.

Our retired Michelin star level restaurant consultant (who is also adept at many other aspects of running and marketing a business in the entertainment & leisure industry) means the cuisine will be outstanding and the wines top class. We intend to provide very high quality but low cost easy to eat and delicious snacks for the passengers to enjoy whilst watching the bands or sitting on the top deck watching the riverside world go by as apposed to a sit down meal in a boring unsociable restaurant setting! London's premier bands are offering us the first gig aboard the Ark for greatly reduced rates to assist us with the launch of this venture.

We also have a marketing whizz on board. She has many years experience in the entertainment industry as a manager and promoter of artists, music, racing and all kinds of other high end leisure activities.

We have already found a mooring and reserved it and are currently looking at others along the river Thames. We are considering many vessels which could suit our purposes. If you are aware of any do let us know about them. The vessel’s current location is immaterial (within reason) as our skipper will arrange to collect. We do wish to be environmentally friendly however, so vessels with electric engines, solar panelling and hydro power etc would be preferable.

Once this project is successful we intend to set up additional vessels along the Thames and on other waterways in the UK and beyond. The mobility is a distinct advantage because the location can be moved until the perfect one is found in each case.

If you can provide any assistance or expertise in any respect, have ideas and suggestions or simply want to support this exciting new venture then please do let us know.

We are looking for a minimum of £20,000 investment for 8% of the business. We will require this for a minimum of 12 months trading and then be able to pay back the investment. We will forward our business plan to you if you are interested.

Best wishes from Nat of the Ark Crew

Email: ask@propono.org

Tel: 0208 979 1587 - Mobile: 07966 519844

 

ROLLOVER IMAGES

River Thames North Cardiff Medical Centre opening January 2010
River Thames River Thames


 

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This page was last updated on: 04 March 2010 13:39

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