Case study
Founded in 2016 by Ian Flanagan, a former professional tennis player turned entrepreneur, Voly Group is a leading yacht and multi-asset financial management platform.
Flanagan identified a major inefficiency in the financial operations of the yacht industry. Captains, crew and management companies lacked a unified, real‑time platform to manage expenditure, budgeting and reporting. Existing tools were fragmented, slow, and ill‑suited to the fast‑moving, multi‑jurisdictional nature of yacht operations.
| Region/Nation | North West |
|---|---|
| Sector | Financial and Insurance Services |
| Programme | Debt Funds |
| Partner |
Support from the Bank
Palatine Growth Credit, a specialist in regional technology companies, supported Voly Group through its Growth Credit Fund to which the British Business Bank committed £30m. Palatine supported Voly Group through this Growth Credit Fund with a £2m loan in September 2024, to aid its acquisition of specialist maritime payroll provider Voyonic.
Palatine Growth Credit provided further support in December 2024, which helped fund Voly Group’s acquisition of Go Sea Digital Ltd, a digital crew management platform which expanded its offering to the maritime sector. Voly Group was provided with a new financial facility in October 2025 via the same Fund to further bolster company growth.
Impact of funding: what has Voly gone on to do?
The initial funding provided by Palatine and British Business Bank enabled Voly Group to enhance its artificial intelligence capabilities and expand its team of specialists through a series of targeted acquisitions. In doing so, Voly Group was able to incorporate multi-jurisdiction payroll capabilities and establish a more comprehensive financial management platform and ecosystem, strengthening its foothold and position in the market.
Voly Group’s management software is now used across the international luxury yacht industry to conduct instant global transactions, backed by real-time reporting. Users can also manage operational expenditure, charter and maintenance. The business has recently expanded into providing accounting software for the management of multi-assets such as property, aircraft and other family office assets.
It now employs 175 staff at its HQ in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, and has opened other locations across the UK and Europe. It recently hit over 1,600 yachts using the Voly Platform.
Ian Flanagan, Founder and CEO, Voly:
With the financial support from Palatine Growth Credit and the British Business Bank we have been able to maintain our aggressive growth rate. The funding has enabled us to acquire new talent and enhance our in-house AI capabilities to build the best-in-class fintech platform. We’re excited for the road ahead and will continue to innovate and develop our industry leading software to provide the best service for our customers.
Ryan Sorby, Partner Palatine Growth Credit:
We are proud to have supported a strong UK innovator. Voly Group has gone from strength-to-strength and is now firmly established as a leader in its sector. We look forward to seeing its continued growth as it further invests and develops their software solution.
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