East coast marinas change hand as boat registrations increase
The nation’s largest portfolio of marinas, stretching from Melbourne to ritzy Sydney and Queensland’s sleepy Airlie Beach, will form a new fund.
The nation’s largest portfolio of marinas, stretching from Melbourne to Queensland’s sleepy Airlie Beach will seed a new closed-ended fund.
Consisting of ten properties, the d’Albora marinas, including the The Spit in Sydney, Cabarita Point in the inner west and Rushcutters Bay, have been purchased for $225m by diversified financial services firm MA Financial and will seed the new MA Marina Fund.
MA Financial has purchased the entire portfolio from Balmain Corporation with the assets including marinas at Cabarita Point in Sydney, two marinas adjacent to the Melbourne CBD, and management rights to the Port of Airlie marina at the gateway to the Whitsundays.
All up, the marinas can accommodate more than 2700 vessels and are supported by a range of marine services, leisure, and tourist businesses.
MA Financial said the yet to launch MA Marina Fund, was expected to attract significant investor interest from domestic and international markets seeking exposure to defensive, cash-generative assets largely uncorrelated to other asset classes according to a statement. Balmain will participate in the fund as a cornerstone investor taking an initial interest of 30 per cent.
MA Financial joint chief executive Julian Biggins, says the acquisition of the marina portfolio is a natural fit for the firm which already has significant investment and operational capability in retail, hospitality, and other alternative real estate assets.
“We are excited to enter the marina sector and welcome this alternate asset investment class to our real estate portfolio,” Mr Biggins said in a statement.
“At MA Financial we are largely focused on the specialised and active management of alternative assets, so this unique investment and accompanying new Fund complement our existing solutions. We see a clear investment opportunity for our clients in this asset class. ‘’Marinas have characteristics and benefits that set them apart from traditional real estate investments. They are defensive, cash generative businesses with approximately 90 per cent of revenues relating to boat storage, property rental and boat maintenance which are of a recurring nature.”
Mr Biggins said Australia’s current marina market and the asset’s resilient earnings profile over a long period of time was also a factor in the acquisition.
“Throughout economic cycles marinas have proven resilient, and the core d’Albora portfolio delivered strong earnings during the Global Financial Crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The fundamentals and outlook for Australia’s marina market is extremely positive. The number of boat registrations on the east coast continue to grow, particularly among larger boats, outpacing the supply of new marina berths which is limited by a strict regulatory environment and approval requirements as well as the lack of available and suitably located development land and seabed. It’s clear that this supply-demand dynamic will continue to drive strong revenue and earnings for marina operators.”
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