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Aquavista Watersides and Marinas, the largest UK inland marina chain with 32 sites under its control, has been taken over by a €30bn international private equity fund for an undisclosed sum.

Antin Infrastructure Partners, founded in 2007 and listed on Euronext Paris, invests across energy, digital, transport and social infrastructure, including healthcare and education.

“This is part of a continuing trend in the inland waterways sector of consolidation and investment by large organisations and investment vehicles” observes Waterways World publisher Peter Johns.

“The sector has traditionally followed an owner-operator model, but over the last couple of decades the pace of change has increased across the sector towards larger scale ownership. Although the ‘corporate approach’ jars with some, it can be seen as a vote of confidence in the sector that has become a firmly established component of the wider leisure industry.”

Unlike traditional hedge funds which often look for early sales of their businesses, Antin says it has a determinedly long-term view of its investments. 

Aquavista had its roots in BWML, the old British Waterways marina arm, originally formed in in 2003 and bought by the private LDC group in 2018.  Since then it has seen a doubling in size to 5,300 berths and increased its commitment to residential moorings.