Antin Infrastructure Partners is set to acquire Aquavista Watersides & Marinas having signed a binding agreement to acquire the marina owner and operator.
Aquavista operates 32 inland and coastal marinas offering more than 5,300 berths together with marine services across the country.
The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Nottingham.
The transaction marks an exit for private equity investor LDC following a seven-year partnership during which the company nearly trippled revenue and doubled the size of its marina portfolio through a series of acquisitions.
This includes the acquisition of Castle Marinas in 2021.
Ee look forward to working with Aquavista’s management and team to support the company’s continued growth.
Simon Soder and Assia Belkahia
The organisations say Aquavista benefits from favourable underlying trends and points to UK boat ownership growing steadily leading to rising storage needs.
In addition, the growing demand for residential berths has supported high occupancy rates, low churn and resilient revenues.
Antin’s Mid Cap Fund I will be investing in Aquavista alongside CEO Steve de Polo and other members of the management team.
Upon closing, this investment will be the sixth by Antin’s €2.2 billion Mid Cap Fund I.
Antin’s mid cap strategy focuses on smaller and medium-sized investments in established infrastructure companies in Europe and North America across the energy and environment, digital, transport and social sectors.
Clear and ambitious plan
“Aquavista has all the characteristics we look for in our mid cap strategy, notably high barriers to entry and strong resiliency, and benefits from supportive long-term tailwinds,” said Simon Soder and Assia Belkahia, respectively senior partner and partner at Antin Infrastructure Partners, in a joint statement.
“The company has a clear and ambitious plan to scale up its already leading presence in an attractive market segment, and we look forward to working with Aquavista’s management and team to support the company’s continued growth in marina infrastructure.”
Steve de Polo, CEO of Aquavista, added: “LDC has been an invaluable partner and the scale we’ve achieved together has enabled us to significantly enhance our services putting us in an incredibly strong position for future growth.
Expansion opportunities
“We are delighted to partner with Antin to build on the strong foundations developed with LDC’s support and accelerate our growth.”
He continued: “We see many expansion opportunities ahead, and Antin is the right partner to help us consolidate our leadership and deliver our proposition of quality facilities and services to an ever-greater number of customers who share our vision of freedom and togetherness.”
Antin Infrastructure Partners is a private equity firm focused on infrastructure.
Aquavista offers residential and leisure berths, boat sales, floating homes and marine services.
The transaction is expected to close in October 2025.
