Premier Marinas acquires marinas operator Boatfolk
An operator of 11 marinas in England, Wales and Scotland has been acquired by Premier Marinas on the South Coast for an undisclosed sum.
Boatfolk, headquartered at Boatfolk Marinas in Bursledon, near Southampton, Hampshire, will continue to operate largely unchanged as plans are developed to align the two businesses over the coming months and unlock benefits for customers.
The acquisition, doubling the number of Premier Marinas’ locations in the UK, was funded through investment provided by Premier Marina’s long-term owners, Wellcome, a global charity foundation.
It creates a combined portfolio of 22 UK locations, providing “an unrivalled choice of premium destinations” and confirming the group as “the UK’s leading marina operator”.
Pete Bradshaw is chief executive of Premier Marinas, headquartered at Swanwick Marina, Swanwick, near Southampton.
He said: “I am delighted to confirm that Premier Marinas has concluded the acquisition of Boatfolk following a formal sale process.
“In Boatfolk we see a fantastic portfolio of marinas in great locations, a talented team and a customer ethos that resonates with that of Premier Marinas.
“We have much in common, and my team looks forward to working with our new colleagues to unlock the benefits for all our customers.”
Boatfolk operates 11 marinas – Bangor and Conwy in North Wales and Penarth, near Cardiff in South Wales, Portishead near Bristol, Deacons on the River Hamble near Southampton, Haslar in Portsmouth Harbour, East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, Portland and Weymouth in South Dorset, Royal Quays near Newcastle and Rhu in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland.
Based on the River Hamble at Lower Swanwick, Premier Marinas is the owner and operator of a portfolio of 11 UK locations, including Brighton, Chichester, Falmouth, Gosport, Noss on Dart in South Devon, Port Solent near Portsmouth, Southsea, Sovereign Harbour at Eastbourne, Swanwick, Trafalgar Wharf in Portsmouth Harbour and Universal on the River Hamble.
Specialists from the Solent and Portsmouth offices of Azets, the UK top 10 accountancy and business advisory firm, supported Premier Marinas with buy-side transactional advice in relation to taxes, from corporation tax and VAT and employment taxes and stamp duty land tax.
Heather Williams, an Azets tax partner working from the firm’s Solent office near Southampton, said: “The acquisition of Boatfolk further underlines Premier Marinas’ commitment to excellence for customers and Azets is pleased to have been able to advise on the multi-faceted tax issues which come with corporate transactions.”
Azets’ team on the taxes’ aspect of the deal were Heather and tax partner Mike Middelton, corporate tax directors Ian Fielder and James Harper, partner Mark Doherty (VAT), employment tax advisor Jo Gander and tax director Tom Lacey.
Geoff Collins, group finance director at Premier Marinas, thanked the Azets team for their “amazing support” during the acquisition process.