British marine and leisure firm Broom Boats of Brundall, which has operated on the Norfolk Broads for 125 years, has been put up for sale.

Located on the River Yare, Broom Boats was established in 1898 and is known for building boats and its fleet of charter vessels. The business also operates as a marina and boat yard, offering repair and maintenance services, although its boatbuilding arm closed in 2018.

Specialist business property adviser Christie & Co has been instructed to sell Broom Boats of Brundall on behalf of Broom Marine Group.

Local news outlet Eastern Daily Press reports that the owners want to sell so they can focus on their other company, a strategic land and property development business.

The business originally established a hire fleet in 1912, enabling clients to explore the unique landscape of the Norfolk Broads National Park. Today, the business operates one of the newest fleets on the Norfolk Broads.

The 8.6-acre (3.49 ha) freehold site provides over 72,000 sq ft (6,719 sq m) of marine-related buildings together with 78 private marina berths and a £3.28m hire fleet comprising 24 luxury cruisers and six electrically operated day-craft and two fishing boats.

The most recent addition to the business was the acquisition of the former Yare public house adjacent to the site entrance in 2022. The property underwent a £600,000 transformation, opening in October 2022 as The White Heron with a food menu introduced in April 2023 and B&B from boats moored adjacent to the pub in November last year.

Christie & Co says offers are invited for the business, which will be sold as a going concern, with staff transferring to a new owner at completion.

“We’ve witnessed an uptick in demand for both inland and coastal marina and boating businesses over the last 18 months,” says Jon Patrick, head of leisure and development at Christie & Co, who is handling the sale process. “This has come from existing UK and European operators, as well as boating and marine enthusiasts and investors.

“However, we’ve also seen greater activity in the sector from owners of holiday parks and associated leisure hospitality businesses, which do share some similarities in terms of the underlying business model with marinas. As a result, we anticipate that interest in Broom Boats will come from a diverse range of parties.”

Main image courtesy of Christie & Co.

The post Broom Boats in Norfolk up for sale after 125 years appeared first on Marine Industry News.