Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard sale rumours but Pat Gay says no
Queensland’s marine and superyacht industry is abuzz with rumours a US giant is on the cusp of snapping up one of the Gold Coast’s biggest marinas and shipyards.
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QUEENSLAND’S marine and superyacht industry is abuzz with rumours a US giant is on the cusp of snapping up one of the Gold Coast’s biggest shipyards.
But despite industry insiders saying they had heard of a potential sale of Gold Coast City Marina to US company Safe Harbor Marinas and others saying the company was “sniffing around”, City Marina founder Patrick Gay is pouring cold water on a done deal.
An industry insider said they heard about the sale last week and that it was the “talk of the marine industry” and the “worst kept secret”.
Mr Gay told the Bulletin City Marina at Coomera had not been sold but that “everything was up for sale in our lives except our husband or wives”.
“I have received offers but have rejected them,” Mr Gay said.
“For 20 years I’ve had people sniffing around, but no it’s not been sold and I don’t have a likely contender, but at 87 years, you never know which is the right path until the right answer comes.
“It has not been sold, and not for sale, unless of course the right person came along.”
Asked about whether he had heard Gold Coast City Marina being sold, rival neighbouring The Boat Works owner Tony Longhurst said: “We have heard that people are sniffing around.
“It’s not us. I’ve had people asking for the last six to eight weeks if we were buying it but they haven’t come to us.”
It comes as Australia’s largest superyacht berth, at 160m, is due for completion later this year at Southport Yacht Club, the location of the city’s designated Port of Clearance.
The Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard has been operating superyacht refit and repair services on a 17.5-hectare site for more than 21 years and has an onsite marine businesses precinct with some 90 business employing around 800 people.
It has been operated by CEO and Patrick Gay’s son Trenton Gay, who is understood to be on holiday in the Great Barrier Reef and could not be reached for comment.
When asked how he would feel if the Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard was sold, Mr Longhurst – who has overseen a $100m expansion of The Boat Works and added a new superyacht precinct in recent years – said: “That would be good – they might spend some money on it – and do the big development they said they were going to do three years ago.
“That’s good news, any new money coming in. I would be very keen to have competition down the road.
“Pat Gay has done an amazing job, coming in and setting up the precinct to start with.
“Hats off to them. It’s wonderful. He was the foundation person who got it up and running. He created a lot of jobs.”
According to industry sources, US-based Safe Harbor Marinas, the country’s largest owner and operator of marinas, has its eyes on the GCCM.
In September year, Safe Harbor Marinas announced it had acquired Puerto Del Rey, the largest marina in the Caribbean at 56 hectares. In May, it paid $460 million for the Lauderdale Marine Center, a premier US destination and service provider for the superyacht industry in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
On its website the business says it will actively “engage with marina owners who wish to monetise their ownership and to sell their marina(s) to Safe Harbor, or roll over their equity ownership position on a tax efficient basis, becoming a long-term portfolio partner in Safe Harbor Marinas”.
Safe Harbor Marinas has been approached for comment.
HISTORY OF GCCM
Considered one of the true innovators of the Australian marine industry, Trenton Gay was instrumental in the design and construction of the Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard some 20 years ago.
GCCM was one of the first facilities in Australia to adopt the philosophy of marine clustering, putting marine related businesses and infrastructure together in one convenient location.
In 2014, the Gay Group of Companies took sole ownership of GCCM and Trenton Gay took over as the CEO.
In July this year, GCCM announced an advancement at its refit and repair facility, with its existing Italian-built ASCOM mobile boat hoist upgraded to accommodate vessels up to 300-tonnes.
Last year GCCM won the Superyacht Industry Project/Design or Manufacturer of the Year category in the 2020 Australian Marine Industry Awards for the in-water full hull and superstructure refinishing of M/Y Dragonfly and M/Y SuRi.
“For 20 years, Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard has offered world-class refit services and solutions to domestic and international superyachts,” a write-up of the awards said.
“In early 2020, this award-winning facility was able to concurrently devise, deliver and successfully complete two of the largest on-water yacht paint and re-fit projects ever undertaken in Australian waters.
“Two high profile yachts, M/Y Dragonfly (74m) and M/Y SuRi (63m) required full hull and superstructure repaints. Both projects were undertaken simultaneously in GCCM’s dedicated superyacht work basin.
“These groundbreaking projects have proven that GCCM has the capability and capacity to refit and repaint sizeable yachts in a safe and sustainable way.”
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