The UK’s Lakeland Leisure group has expanded its marina portfolio to seven units through the acquisition of the 300-berth Barton Marina on the UK’s Trent & Mersey Canal in Staffordshire. No purchase price for the marina was released.
The marina, which was established in 2001, accommodates both residential and annual mooring with monthly, quarterly and annual rates, plus visitor moorings.
The marina hosts The Waterfront Pub, a popular hostelry which opened in 2007 and was soon followed by other cafes and restaurants, shops and a cinema all built in the same Victorian warehouse style using reclaimed timber and brick. These facilities quickly made Barton Marina a key leading leisure location in Staffordshire.
For boaters both based there or visiting, the marina offers secure long-term car parking; mains water to all jetties, toilets and showers, docking repair and boatyard services, pump-out and a laundry.
The marina ideally serves as a base for poplar cruising routes on the UK canal network such as The Cheshire Ring, Black Country Ring, Four Counties Ring, Llangollen Canal, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and the Caldon Canal.
In respect of new developments at Barton Marina, the group is planning a series of renovations across the facility which include:
- Updating the walkways on the pontoons with anti-slip grid-mesh
- Modernising the toilets and washroom facilities
- Introducing the Harbour Assist customer portal, the leading cloud-based marina management software
- Establishing a brand new chandlery stocking a comprehensive range of marine products and consumables and
- The opening a Lakeland Leisure Boat Sales Office
