Marina Projects Ltd is pleased to have played a pivotal role in securing a lease for the expansion of James Watt Marina on the River Clyde at Greenock. The lease of the Great Harbour site covers some 6 hectares of land and water and will see the development of a comprehensive Marine Trade Centre. In back-to-back arrangements, Marina Projects Ltd working with James Watt Marina, has also secured an anchor tenant for the site. Serco will provide commercial marine services including towage and passenger transfer from the site. Their lease at Great Harbour provides for Serco’s dedicated use of the extensive deep water berthing and the west jetty.
Marina Projects provided support in negotiating the commercial terms with Serco and also establishing a site wide masterplan and business case for the wider Marine Trade Centre proposals, which took full account of the Serco operations. The masterplan also covers the remainder of the berthing, commercial property, boat lifting and storage operations.
Serco provides maritime services for their customers in the Defence sector, operating nearly 100 vessels from five sites around the UK, working in British waters and around the world. Of those five sites, Serco has been operating out of Great Harbour in a number of capacities for over 25 years, providing services such as towage and passenger transfers to their customers on the Clyde throughout that period.
Serco’s Maritime Services Contract Director – Guy Barker – expressed his delight at having ensured Serco’s continued operation out of the base: ‘We are delighted to be able to continue to provide exceptional service to our customers from such an important and historic location on the Clyde as Great Harbour and we look forward to continuing our excellent relationship with James Watt Marina over the course of our tenure’.
Marina Projects’ Operations Director - Dan McKiernan – commenting on the developments noted: “it has been a pleasure working with the Serco team and being able to support their ongoing activities was a key aspect of our masterplan proposals. Having this anchor tenant in place provides real clarity on the future development and operation of the Great Harbour site and we are excited to provide our continued support to the delivery of the masterplan’.