WelcomeConsolidation continued to be a major theme throughout the marina industry in 2019 with a large volume of transactions by a variety of well-capitalized buyinggroups, as well as individual investors. Safe Harbor Marinas led the way as they pushed ever closer to 100 facilities. At the same time, new investment groups suchas Southern Marinas emerged with Wall Street funding and a healthy appetite for storage-centric marina facilities in strong markets. VIP Marinas, with eight marinasin Texas and Oklahoma, entered the Florida market. Suntex Marinas shifted gears with the disposition of 11 former Loggerhead marinas and the acquisition of BahiaMar in Ft. Lauderdale. The buyer, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS), a leading owner/operator of manufactured home communities, RV resorts and campgrounds, wasthe initial equity provider for the portfolio in 2017. The acquisition of the portfolio marks ELS’s official entry into the marina space with more acquisitions projected.Colliers Leisure Property Advisors’ activity reflected the broader market. During 2019, the Colliers LPA team closed a record 11 leisure property sales and, as ofyear-end, have four more properties under contract. We touched all spectrums of the buyer pool ranging from a couple who were buying their first marina (Dozier’sRegatta Point) to Safe Harbor Marinas. We also worked with Southern Marinas on their first marina acquisition (Bradenton Boat Club) as a newly formed companyand VIP Marinas on their first Florida purchase (Anclote Village Marina).Our team has been focused on marina brokerage for several years now and has sold 32 properties in the past four years alone. It is fair to say that each brokerageassignment has come with different challenges leading to greater insights. Reflecting on 2019, two observations stand out. First, sellers of high-quality properties instrong markets can leverage a well-run marketing process to create competition driving price and terms. We executed on this process several times with tremendoussuccess in 2019 generating multiple offers from highly-qualified buyers. Second, the demand for properties from private investors, often first-time buyers comingfrom other professions or real estate sectors, has increased over prior years. This has led to longtime owner-operators contemplating their retirement and exit.As a result of our experiences, we are advising clients and prospective clients, “If you have a 7 to 10-year horizon for being in the marina business and the stomachto weather another economic downturn, it is a great time to own and hold a marina and enjoy the cashflow. However, if you have a shorter time horizon, there hasn’tbeen a better time to sell a marina since 2007.”With the Federal Reserve reversing course on its 2018 interest rate increase forecast by cutting rates three times in 2019 and no imminent increases forecast, 2020will likely see more Wall Street money and more new groups looking to deploy capital into the space. At the same time, there are also plenty of opportunities forfirst time buyers and owner operators as marina operations continue to follow the path of the economic recovery and the availability of debt continues to increase.Our team views marina brokerage as a relationship business. In addition to countless face-to-face meetings with owners, we attended several industry events acrossthe country in 2019. Each represented an opportunity to forge new relationships and strengthen existing ones. In partnership with our capital markets teams inTampa and Atlanta, we took on several debt placement assignments in 2019 and will look to launch a full-service marina debt platform in 2020. We are also seeingour valuation services team grow in the marina space as they strive to become a leader in marina appraisal. Our goal is to continue to position ourselves and ourfirm for the long-term as an advisor to marina owners whether they be institutional investors or single-facility owners.Andrew Cantor Matt Putnam Dan GrovattManaging Director Managing Director Managing Directorandrew.cantor@colliers.com matt.putnam@colliers.com dan.grovatt@colliers.com
LISTED:Lighthouse Point MarinaBaltimore, Maryland
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