Leisure property adviser Christie & Co announce the sale of Farndon Marina to Northamptonshire-based Tingdene Group

The end of an era has come for the family owners of a long-standing as their marina has been sold.

Farndon Marina has been owned by the same family since 1966, when the 25-acre freehold site was originally purchased and developed by local businessman and boating enthusiast Mark Ainsworth.

In February this year, it was announced that for the first time in its history, Farndon Marina was being put up for sale as the current owners, Mark’s son Paul Ainsworth and his wife Janet, were looking to retire.

And now it has been announced by leisure property adviser Christie & Co that Farndon Marina has been sold to the Tingdene Group.

Farndon Marina managing director Paul Ainsworth said: “The sale of Farndon Marina marks the end of an era for Janet and I. It has been an emotional journey to come to the point where we will hand the business over to new owners.

“We have made many friends with our berth holders over the years, and we are confident that the success of Farndon will continue with the fantastic team we have on site, who will continue to be great assets to the marina. We had the support of excellent advisors to guide us through the process from start to finish and the Christie & Co team were always on hand to help.”

The marina comprises over 300 private berths and moorings, with berthing fees and chandlery sales forming the backbone of the business, together with boat sales brokerage and marine services, which incorporates repair, maintenance and boat lifting.

Recent investments had been made in technology to improve day-to-day operations, site security and enhance the customer experience, as well as the development of amenity buildings including workshops, visitor facilities and office space, with new pontoon walkways installed during the marketing process.

Ian Collier, managing director of Tingdene Group, said the group was looking at a number of investment opportunities for the marina, over the coming months which could include a holiday park, motor home and touring caravan facilities, and floating lodges:

“We are excited to welcome Farndon to the Tingdene family,” he said, “As a family business ourselves, we immediately understood the great opportunity Farndon Marina presented and the work that Paul and Janet had put in over the years.

“Location-wise, the business extends our marina network northwards, but from a wider group perspective which includes both holiday and residential parks, it is very centrally positioned in the East Midlands which works well for us.”

Jon Patrick, head of leisure and development at Christie & Co, added: “Farndon Marina attracted a wide range of interest from inland marina operators, as well as holiday park operators and investors, resulting in a competitive bidding process for the business.

“Paul and Janet were well prepared ahead of coming to market which, together with the marketing strategy we adopted, helped to deliver a sale of the business from launch to completion in a little over four months – a very short timeframe in our experience of handling operational real estate transactions.”