British Waterways to sell its 18 marinas
A surprise move from British Waterways Marinas Ltd, the subsidiary of the UK’s Canal & Rivers Trust that operates a portfolio of 18 marinas, sees all 18 marinas being offered for sale with the interest deadline set for April 6, 2018.
Vail Williams’ Ian Froome will be handling the sale, together with BDO, and says there is a lot of interest in the industry, mostly from existing marina operators, although Mr Froome says there may also be international interest as well.
He said “Once we’ve handled the April 6 deadline, we will draw up a short list and then undertake full due diligence.”
The portfolio of 18 marinas includes three coastal and 15 inland marinas, of which four are on river navigations. Of the 18 facilities 17 are ‘Gold Anchor’ accredited by The Yacht Harbour Association. In total there 2,520 berths in total of which 28% (699) are residential. The statutory reported income in 2016-17 was £8.1m
BWML says the Canal & River Trust is looking to focus more on its core priorities and to secure long-term revenue from its investments.
All the proceeds from the sale of BWML would be invested in other income-generating assets, so as to deliver further sustainable revenue funding for maintaining the historic waterways in the Trust’s care.
After a sale, the Trust would continue to receive income from network access agreements from the purchaser of the business. By reinvesting the capital from the sale, it would also generate a long-term revenue income.
