Broom Boats has been put up for sale.
The business, based on the River Yare at Brundall, was established in 1898 by Charles Broom and has been part of the Brundall boating community for 125 years maintaining, repairing and restoring boats of all types and make.
Initially the business built ‘beautifully crafted sailing cruisers for gentlemen’.
During the 1920s and 30s, Broombuilt a 30ft motorboat powered by a Morris petrol engine and over the coming years built more spacious cruisers that were available for hire and for sale.
The business is being marketed by Christie & Co on behalf of Broom Marine Group.
The sale includes the £3.275m hire fleet comprising 24 luxury cruisers and six electrically operated day-craft and two fishing boats, a 8.6-acre (3.49 hectare) freehold site that contains around 72,000sqft (6,719sqm) of marine-related buildings together with 78 private marina berths.
It also includes the former Yare public house – now the The White Heron – next to the site entrance which the property details state underwent a £600,000 renovation in 2022.
The site is operated under management and Christie & Co state there are a number of business development opportunities including further electrification of the fleet, the introduction of holiday accommodation as well as the potential to reconsider the potential for floating lodges as part of a wide redevelopment proposition.
It is intended to sell the business as a going concern, with staff transferring to a new owner.
“We’ve witnessed an uptick in the demand for both inland and coastal marina and boating businesses over the last 18-months,” said Jon Patrick, head of leisure and development at Christie & Co. “This has come from existing UK and European operators, as well as boating and marine enthusiasts and investors.”
He added: “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.”
