7 November 2025

A new land and water tour has been green lit for London’s Lack’s Dock on the Thames and will be run by worldwide open-top sightseeing operator, Big Bus Tours.

London Amphibious Tours Limited (LAT) has been granted a 15-year lease with the Duchy of Cornwall, securing exclusive amphibious tour rights to the Lack’s Dock slipway adjacent to the MI6 building on the Albert Embankment in London.

It was awarded the lease following a competitive two-stage tender process conducted by the Duchy of Cornwall, with a new, world-first, fully electric amphibious passenger vehicle (APV) as the centrepiece of its bid. Big Bus Tours will lead operations with the all-electric APV in London.

The new electric models, manufactured by LAT’s sister company, Seahorse Amphibious Vehicles, are the result of 10 years of research and development, purpose-built from the ground up, using the latest technology and fully compliant with current UK maritime safety legislation (MSN 1823) and pending ES-TRIN European Regulations.

Seahorse Amphibious Vehicles is based in Slough and Southampton across 25,000 sq ft of manufacturing site and has already launched land and water tours in Windsor, Cape Town and Liverpool with its diesel, amphibious passenger vehicles. It is the only company to design, manufacture and operate its own APVs.

Graham Lumley, Executive Chairman at London Amphibious Tours and Seahorse Amphibious Vehicles, said: “We are immensely proud to have secured a long-term lease at this prestigious site for which we thank the Duchy of Cornwall.

“We have been passionate about expanding the duck tour concept for many years, and today’s announcement underscores Seahorse’s continued evolution as a global leader. This marks a significant step in Seahorse’s strategy to establish a production line capable of delivering up to 24 APVs per year from our UK headquarters in Slough within the next twelve months.”

Ed Lumley, Managing Director at London Amphibious Tours and Seahorse Amphibious Vehicles, said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Big Bus Tours, the world’s largest operator of open-top sightseeing experiences. There is no partner better suited to work with us on this exciting opportunity, and we look forward to collaborating with Pat Waterman and the Big Bus team.

“Through our sister company Seahorse Amphibious Vehicles, we are providing our groundbreaking fully electric Seahorse APVs, which will be operated by our partner Big Bus Tours.”

Pat Waterman, Executive Chairman at Big Bus Tours, added: “We are very excited to work with LAT and Seahorse to provide amphibious tours in London. These tours will become an iconic part of the London tourism scene, adding new layers of opportunity to our hop-on hop-off operations. We look forward to our recently announced Big Duck Tours brand becoming synonymous with ‘must do’ tourism activities in London.”

The new all-electric vehicles are designed to operate quietly and cleanly by combining cutting-edge technology with comfort and environmental responsibility.

They have a maximum water speed of eight knots and limited land speed of 30 mph, offering a smooth and responsive experience both on land and at sea.

This announcement highlights Seahorse Amphibious Vehicles’ ongoing evolution as a global leader in the manufacture of amphibious passenger vehicles.