There are approximately 560 marinas in the UK. Historically marinas have been operated by private individuals and many still are, but as private equity have taken an interest in the sector, we have started to see the emergence of a two-tier market.  The first was when Premier Marinas were sold by Blackrock to Welcome Trust in 2015, followed by British Waterways (now known as Aquavista) to Lloyds Capital in 2018 and who have most recently added Castle Marinas to their portfolio in 2021. As with holiday parks the stable income stream derived from mooring fees is what has attracted them to the sector making them good investments, and with a third of marina operators reporting occupancy levels at 100% in 2020 with less than a quarter having an occupancy rate of lower than 85%, the sector has proven incredibly resilient through the Covid disruption.

Join Guy Ruddle and sector specialists: Ian Simpson, head of the leisure and trade related team; Kay Griffiths, associate director in the leisure and trade related team; and, Tom Griffiths, associate in the leisure and trade related team as they discuss how the marina market has evolved over the years, where investment activity is coming from, can occupancy levels be sustained and what opportunities there are in the market.

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