Brighton Marina has been sold to a health charity for a reported £200m.
The Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation dedicated to improving health, announced it had bought Premier Marinas Limited (PML) from the BlackRock UK Property Fund yesterday.
It will now become part of the trust’s £18 billion investment portfolio, which provides the income for its funding.
Peter Pereira Gray, Managing Director of the Wellcome Trust’s Investment Division, said, “Taking sole ownership of PML adds a third wholly-owned UK asset backed operating business to the trust’s investment portfolio and is a demonstration of our commitment to the industry and our confidence in the management team and employees.
“We will take a long term approach to the ownership of the business and look forward to the continued success and growth of PML.”
Paul Tebbit, Director at BlackRock, said, “PML has generated strong returns for BlackRock over the last decade during which time we have expanded the business significantly.
“We are very pleased to have sold PML to the Wellcome Trust and are confident that the business will continue to thrive under their stewardship.”
The Wellcome Trust is the world’s second highest-spending charitable foundation, dedicated to driving improvements in human and animal health.
It spends more than £800 million a year on supporting bright minds in biomedical research, the humanities and the social sciences, and on public engagement and education in these fields.
The Wellcome Trust’s notable achievements include funding much of the sequencing of the human genetic code, and research that enabled the introduction of the frontline drugs used to fight malaria.
The marina currently includes more than 5,000 wet and dry berths, and shore storage for over 2,000 boats, including fully serviced boatyard facilities.
It also includes 300,000 square feet of rental property across its marinas, housing tenants operating a wide variety of businesses, such as boat sales and repair services, retailers and catering companies.
The Wellcome Trust was advised by KPMG and JLL. BlackRock was advised by Lazard.
