MarineMax buys Tarpon boatyard

Clearwater giant boat and yacht dealer MarineMax Inc. has added another property to its portfolio. 

MarineMax has acquired several parcels in Tarpon Springs in a $4 million deal. 

The company purchased the property, which houses a boatyard and repair operation, from Odessa-based Riverport Capital LLC, which is controlled by Jack Fulford of the Midcoast Marine Group. The group builds piers, boardwalks, floating docks and other marine-related construction projects. 

The parcels acquired in the deal include 1078 Island Ave., 1082 Island Ave. and vacant land at the property as well. The peninsula of land where the property sits is across the water from the iconic Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks. 

One of the parcels MarineMax acquired from the Midcoast Marine Group.

The warehouse on the property was previously listed for lease. The waterfront warehouse is on half an acre with 4,300 square feet of warehouse space and 1,200 square feet of air-conditioned office space. 

In a news release, following the Catalyst’s story, MarineMax issued a press release regarding the purchase of the properties, announcing that it also acquired the entire Midcoast Marine Business. 

“Midcoast Marine Group complements our growing marina portfolio and adds a valuable skillset to our expanding service offerings,” W. Brett McGill, CEO and president of MarineMax, said in the release. “Adding Midcoast Marine Group to the MarineMax family gives us the team and assets to cost-effectively manage our marina construction needs and market these services to third parties. We continue to successfully execute on our strategy to acquire well-managed, high-performing, and complementary businesses.”

Midcoast Marine Group CEO Fulford, who founded the company in 2012, will continue to run the business.

The acquired property, as part of the overall acquistion, has the potential for storage expansion, serves as the haul-out location for all larger vessels in Tampa Bay, according to the release. 

The acquisition comes as MarineMax is seeing a swell of activity. 

In October, the company reported it reached a new revenue record for the fourth quarter and the full year. Revenue grew over 16% to a record $536.8 million for the quarter compared to the $462.3 million it earned in the fourth quarter last year. “This growth was despite the difficulties presented by Hurricane Ian which impacted the company’s largest market, Florida. The revenue growth overall was driven by continued strong demand for boating and our selective acquisitions with exceptional strategic growth results,” the report read. 

The company recently made national headlines with its acquisition of Island Global Yachting LLC (IGY Marina), which was a $480 million all-cash deal, with an additional potential earnout of up to $100 million two years after closing. 

Earlier this year, MarineMax also acquired Superyacht Management, known as SYM, a superyacht management company based in Golfe Juan, France, through its Northrop and Johnston subsidiary.