King Point Marina put up for sale to address owner’s ‘unsustainable debt levels’

Sutton Harbour has put King Point Marina and six investment properties up for sale as part of a financial restructuring plan.

The group lost £2.6m on its Harbour Arch Quay development despite all 14 apartments being sold off plan, and it also saw annual interest payments nearly double to £2.0m.

It is now targeting a £10m reduction in its lending, to £11.8m, by next March.

The AIM-listed group has revealed it made an adjusted pre-tax loss of £3.3m in the year to March, compared with a breakeven performance the previous year.

It owns and operates Sutton Harbour in Plymouth, and works on waterfront regeneration and property projects.

Executive chairman Philip Beinhaker said: “The company is confident that actions underway will address the principal risk of unsustainable debt levels whilst current higher interest rates prevail.

“The company is committed to resolve the current challenges, which once settled, will allow management to bring forward additional new projects to improvement the attractiveness of the Sutton Harbour area for living, working and leisure.”

The loss on the Harbour Arch Quay development was greater than expected because “expected recoveries from subcontractors and professional designers for delays and errors could not be fully achieved”, said Beinhaker. There were also additional costs on financing, construction management, and labour and materials in the fit-out stage.

Plymouth Fisheries’ owner Sutton Harbour had a challenging year because two phases of works undertaken by the Environment Agency to replace the Sutton Harbour lock cills resulted in an exceptional cost of £236,000 to provide back-up fish landing facilities at another location in Plymouth.

It also incurred significant legal costs totalling £623,000 on two ongoing disputes. There is an arbitration hearing against the Environment Agency scheduled for November, about responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of Sutton Harbour Lock.

Separately, Plymouth City Council has made a claim that the group is in breach of its long lease of the former airport site.