Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group said it acquired the Lauderdale Marine Center, the nation’s largest yacht repair facility in terms of the number of large vessels it can haul and service.
Equity for the transaction comes from Carlyle Realty Partners VII, a U.S. real estate investment fund.
“In partnership with the outstanding management team and staff at LMC, we will build upon LMC’s success through growth and continued innovation and superb customer service,” The Carlyle Group managing director Thad Paul said in a statement. “Favorable demand trends in the megayacht industry and the high barriers to entry for new supply in southeast Florida attracted us to the investment.”
Located in Fort Lauderdale on the New River, the Lauderdale Marine Center is a 50-acre facility consisting of a boatyard, marina and marine service center. It accommodates boats as large as 200 feet with 19 covered sheds and 156 wet slips. It has three marine travel lifts with haulout capacity of as much as 330 tons, and it features 7,000 linear feet of dockage.
The Lauderdale Marine Center’s business model includes leasing work space and commercial office space to about 60 on-site contractors providing such marine-related services as fiberglass repair, electrical, painting, brokerage and insurance.
Carlyle’s plans for the Lauderdale Marine Center include minor renovations and several expansions in the near term, including: adding additional paving in the southwest corner of the property to allow for additional mega-yacht repair space; completing the renovations at the adjacent River Bend boatyard and incorporating that property into the Lauderdale Marine Center; and developing a new management and leasing office on the site.
“Carlyle has a track record of value creation in its business and property investments, which makes their ownership a welcome development for LMC,” said Mark Pratt, general manager of the Lauderdale Marine Center since 2000. “With our state-of-the-art facilities and unique operating model that allows captains to choose their own contractors, we are ideally positioned for future growth.”
