Marina Asset Class
Marinas seem to be getting a lot more attention lately from institutional investors. What was once a more niche, fragmented asset class is starting to see consolidation. Earlier this year, Blackstone acquired Safe Harbor Marinas for $5.65B, which clearly highlights the growing interest in the space.
Given that there isn’t much information or many resources out there on this topic, and that most of the existing posts on this forum about marinas are quite outdated, I thought it would be a good idea to start a new discussion.
Would love to hear general thoughts on the current market and supply/demand dynamics of the asset class, major players and funds, how the industry is evolving and consolidating, and what it’s like to work for one of the firms in this space. Additionally, it would be great to know how marinas are currently being valued in terms of cap rates, and if they are treated similarly to hospitality assets. Ideally, someone with experience in the asset class can chime in. Thanks!
Bump
Was in the industry for a number of years. Most, if not all, of the decent marinas have been acquired by the large aggregators (Suntex and SafeHarbor). There are smaller funds chasing snaller and generally more “rural” deals where you spend more time chasing AR than running the business. Call it 10-11k of marinas in the US, we’d tell investors that 500-750 of those are attractive. We would typically pay 8-10% cap rates with the goal to sell the portfolio at a 7-7.5% cap rate. Happy to chat more
Further, virtually all of the opportunities left are value add (primarily build more docks/racks if you have a waitlist). Other biz segs (service, ships store, brokerage, etc) are usually there to attract storage customers and drive annual rate increases. There will definitely be consolidation soon (see recent news on Southern Marinas and Suntex).
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