The shareholders of Grand Harbour Marina plc are each offering for sale to the public 30 per cent of their shareholding in the company.

The share offer amounts to three million ordinary shares of a nominal value of 10 cents each, to be sold at the share offer price of 70 cents per share.

The shareholders are Nicholas Maris and Simon J. Arrol in their personal capacity, Portosalvo Holdings Ltd and V & F Portelli & Sons Ltd. Grand Harbour Marina, in Vittoriosa, is operated and managed by the company together with Camper & Nicholson Marinas Ltd.

Grand Harbour Marina plc chairman Nicholas Maris said that the decision by the present shareholders to go public and have the company listed on the Malta Stock Exchange is a strategic one.

“Public status and listing on the stock exchange will give the business a higher profile and sounder terms on which to deal with clients. It will also give us a more efficient route to financing growth,” he said. “This share offer also allows the current founding shareholders to realise a small part of our investment. We will each retain 70 per cent of our current shareholding.”

Company director Anthony Demajo said: “Retaining a strong presence and interest in the company is important to us, not just because we have been involved in this enterprise from the very beginning, but also because we see a strong future for the marina, particularly with the growth of the super-yacht business.”

Subscriptions for the share offer open on Wednesday, 14 February and close the following Wednesday, 21 February, or earlier if the offer is fully subscribed. There is a minimum application requirement of 1,000 shares, and any amount applied for above that must be in multiples of 100 shares.

HSBC Bank Malta is acting as manager and registrar of this share offer, and is fully underwriting it. HSBC Stockbrokers (Malta) Ltd and GlobalCapital Financial Management Ltd have been mandated as joint sponsors.

Applications forms and copies of the prospectus are being made available at all branches and ShareShops of HSBC Bank Malta, at the offices of GlobalCapital, and at those of other financial intermediaries as from today.

Grand Harbour Marina plc has applied to the Listing Authority to have its shares admitted for listing, and to the Malta Stock Exchange for the shares to be listed and traded on the official list.

The marina has 197 pontoon berths for boats up to 25m long, and 33 berths for super-yachts ranging from 30m to 100m. The super-yacht berths are licensed on a 25-year lease for a capital sum, with annual payments for service charges. Grand Harbour Marina derives other revenue from providing ancillary services, from temporary rentals, and from visiting yachts.

The marina has full quayside services, strong supply of utilities, fire-fighting capabilities, 24-hour surveillance, and CCTV monitoring.

There are systems in place to prevent spillage of hydrocarbons into the sea.