Company: Premier Marinas, UK Docks
Tags: Military Naval Site, Ship Repairer
UK & International Business Sales and M&A News
The British ship repair firm UK Docks has acquired Royal Clarence Yard, the former naval military site in Gosport, Hampshire.
The purchase, for an undisclosed price, significantly expands the company’s activities in Gosport, a major yachting centre opposite Portsmouth. The ship repairers already has facilities on Tyneside, Teesside, and Plymouth.
Royal Clarence Yard, a 5.7-acre site located between the Gosport marina and Royal Clarence marina, offers access to deep water. It is a historic site which includes a number of listed buildings, including the remains of the railway station used by Queen Victoria, which she travelled to before boarding her yacht to visit the Isle of Wight.
It also includes a former steam fire engine house and boat house, and was once used to store all of the Royal Navy’s rum supplies.
UK Docks plans to invest significantly in the former naval military site and convert it into a marine service centre for the local industry.
Jonathan Wilson, a Director of UK Docks, said:
“We are very proud to have acquired such a historic waterfront site in Gosport which will further expand our operations and services provided on the South Coast and we are looking forward to developing this site into what will be a unique specialist marine hub.
“We are currently working out what we can do with the site before we start the planning process. This will probably take around six months before we complete our plans to develop the site.”
Jonathan Wilson – a Director of UK Docks
UK Docks currently operates Endeavour Shipyard, in the Gosport marina operated by Premier Marinas, one of the UK’s leading marina groups. UK Docks leases the facility from Premier Marinas.
Last year UK Docks won a £150m contract from the MoD to maintain three Navy vessels over the next decade from its bases on the Tyne and the Tees.
It was also one of five shipyard companies that signed a charter in June pledging to work together to support the Royal Navy while it maintains its fleet over the next 10 years.
Harold Wilson, UK Docks Managing Director, commented:
“The company would primarily use the site to expand its maritime servicing and repair business, as well as making it a ‘pleasurable part of Gosport’ to visit.”
Harold Wilson – UK Docks Managing Director
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