The French infrastructure investor Antin is muscling in on the booming interest in marina assets as it nears a deal to buy the British company Aquavista.
Sky News has learnt that Antin Infrastructure Partners is in exclusive negotiations to acquire Aquavista, which owns more than 30 marinas around the UK.
Aquavista has been owned by LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, since 2018.
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The company operates more than 5,000 marina berths across its portfolio, making it one of the largest such companies in Britain.
Sources said the sale, if completed, would value the company at well over £150m.
The exclusive talks have emerged just days after Boatfolk, a competitor, was sold to Premier Marinas, which is backed by the Wellcome Trust.
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Aquavista has bulked up in recent years through a series of acquisitions, including the purchase of Castle Marinas, which owned the home of the Crick Boat Show as well as the Birdham Pool Marina at Chichester Harbour.
The latest deals in the UK marinas sector come amid a flurry of corporate activity involving US-based peers.
Earlier this year, Blackstone, the private equity giant, paid $5.6bn to buy Safe Harbor Marinas, America’s biggest marina group.
LDC has been contacted for comment, while Antin declined to comment.
