An offer of three million ordinary shares, marking a 30 per cent stake in Grand Harbour Marina plc, was fully subscribed within hours of opening to the public yesterday morning.

The shares, each of a nominal value of 10 cents, have been sold at 70 cents by shareholders Portosalvo Holdings Ltd, V&F Portelli & Sons Ltd, Nicholas Maris and Simon Arrol. Grand Harbour Marina, which owns and operates the marina with super-yacht berths near Fort St Angelo in Vittoriosa, will now seek listing on the Malta Stock Exchange.

Company chairman Nicholas Maris said: “We had full confidence that this share offer would be brought to a successful conclusion. We appreciate greatly the faith shown in Grand Harbour Marina’s long-term future by those who have now joined us in investing in the business. To them I say: welcome on board. There are interesting times ahead.”

The share offer was fully underwritten by HSBC Bank Malta and the bank is also acting as manager and registrar. The sponsoring stockbrokers are HSBC Stockbrokers (Malta) Ltd and GlobalCapital Financial Management Ltd.

Grand Harbour Marina has sought public limited company status and listing on the stock exchange as this will give the operation much better status in the international arena in which it operates.

The company derives its main revenue from the sale of 25-year leases on its 200 pontoon berths and 33 super-yacht berths, from visiting yachts, temporary rentals, annual berthing fees and service charges. Grand Harbour Marina is run in conjunction with the international yachting company Camper & Nicholsons (Marinas) Ltd.