Marina owners fishing for sale

A privately owned marina, with more than 3ha of oceanfront freehold land, has hit the market near Perth.

The marina at Mindarie, 33km north of Perth, has more than 250 pens and is used as a base for fishing, diving and whale watching boats.

Knight Frank Associate Director Todd Schaffer said it was also a popular launching spot for fishermen and women from Perth’s northern suburbs.

“There is really good fishing and crayfishing out from that area,” he said.

“People park there for $7 a day, put the boat in and off they go. They come back, wash the boat down, go home and cook the fish on the barbecue.”

There was a small marina on the site when Mindarie Keys Joint Venture bought 300ha of land in 1995.

Schaeffer said Mindarie is now a marina-based suburb, with more than 2000 residential lots as well as hotel and retail components. “The hotel and retail is a separate business and not part of this (sale),” he said.

Schaeffer said the marina business and assets being sold had operated in their current management structure since 2009, consistently generating solid profit and cash flow with strong year-on-year growth.

He also said it was not often that a marina of this size came up for sale. “I think the last one in Perth was in 2007,” he said.

The marina business assets include the 250 pens, 62 future pens, a harbour bed lease with 76 years remaining, car parking and fuel sales.

It generates a profit of approximately $698,000 with significant potential for further growth.

Knight Frank Managing Director John Corbett said the marina “offers multiple operating income sources from pen fees, fuel sales and parking”.

“It has a 160 trailer-bay fee paying parking facility and is a favourite with trailer boat users who can launch from the 4-laned boat ramp with immediate access to the open ocean,” Corbett said.

Knight Frank is selling the marina by Expression of Interest, closing on December 11.