Lakeland Leisure

A refreshingly different business model

While many marina operators stick to a tried-and-tested business model, Lakeland Leisure’s emergence and growth have pushed the envelope. Tony Jones speaks to Mark and Louise Morgan from this customer-focused, family-operated business

Lakeland Leisure has been gathering momentum in the boating industry over the last few years. Since expanding from its roots in the caravan-park business, it has acquired several marinas and boat brokerages. And, as well as carving a course in the second-hand boat sector, it has recently entered the new-boat market too.

The company is family owned and run by four siblings following the ‘retirement’ of their parents. “I don’t think Mum and Dad will ever retire properly,” says Lakeland’s operations director Louise Morgan. “They’re still involved in the business, which is great given their considerable experience.”

Caravans, lodges and boats
Lakeland Leisure was formed over 30 years ago when Phill and Carol Morgan bought a caravan park near Penrith, Cumbria, followed by 14 similar acquisitions. “After 17 years in the caravan business they sold the parks and retired into the sunset by building a beach-front campsite in Spain,” explains Louise. “They then bought three inland-waterways marinas here in the UK – and the rest is history.”

While the boating and caravanning industries might be relatively distinct, Louise insists the businesses are very similar from a practical, day-to-day perspective. “Dad always thought of boats as floating caravans and marinas like caravan parks from an operational perspective,” says Mark. “As the caravan industry became saturated it made sense to look at the developing marina sector.” Indeed, many of the marinas operated by Lakeland have caravan parks, lodges and holiday homes on site. “We’re definitely more invested in the inland-waterways business than the caravan business nowadays.” 

The marina business
Lakeland Leisure currently operates five inland-waterways marinas including the newly acquired Barton Marina on the Trent & Mersey Canal, and there’s another on the way in the form of a new development at Hungerford on the Kennet & Avon Canal. As is the case with all of Lakeland’s marinas, the development at Hungerford will feature anti-slip, recycled-plastic jetties with facilities to each berth including water, electricity and wifi.

Hungerford Marina looks likely to raise the bar yet further, offering 120 berths including 12 super berths with finger jetties on either side of the boat, providing easy access and greater privacy. Secure storage space will also be included with every super berth, housed in the purpose-built storage building. Plus, the facility building will have room for berth-holder functions and socialising.

“We’ve spent a lot of time and money refurbishing our marinas to bring them up to the most modern standards – much of which was done throughout the Covid pandemic,” says Louise. “For example, across Great Haywood, Tattenhall and Saul Junction marinas, we have removed all the original wooden decking and supporting bearers, replacing them with composite anti-slip mesh.” A similar overhaul at the company’s newly acquired marina at Barton began in April this year and is scheduled to be completed by July. 

“At Tattenhall Marina we’re awaiting permission for creating holiday pods and lodges, on the back of our successful floating pods,” says Mark. “And at Roydon Marina, which is built on a 32-acre lake, we’ve just received approval to extend the site to accommodate a further 168 berths with new toilet and shower facilities. Due to demand, we’re also installing a boat lift-out facility. There’s currently a year-long waiting list to have a wide-beam boat lifted out in the area, so we wanted to address that problem.”

Liveaboards
Interestingly, only one of the Lakeland Leisure-owned marinas has residential status to accept liveaboards, that being the newly acquired site at Barton. “We are looking at ways we can welcome residential boaters at our other marinas,” says Louise. “It’s important we do it properly and legally, but it’s something we’re keen to accommodate, given the popularity of liveaboard boating.”

Not just marinas
Lakeland Leisure’s move into boat sales progressed naturally to follow the busy brokerage which was already part of the company’s business at Saul Junction Marina. “We’ve since rolled out the successful model across all Lakeland marinas,” says Louise. “And we’re now establishing boat sales offices at non-Lakeland Leisure marinas around the country, such as Caen Hill, Shakespeare and Northwich Quay. We’re excited to establish our sales operation at these high-quality, well-located marinas – it made sense for us to use our experience and expertise to run brokerages there.”

But it’s the company’s move into new-boat sales which has surprised many in the industry. “There are a few reasons why selling new boats through our sales platforms makes sense. First, there’s a demand for both new and second-hand boats, so it wouldn’t make sense for us to restrict our brokerages to selling only used boats. But we also know that boat-builders are most interested in building boats, so leaving the selling and financing to us makes good business sense for everyone. It keeps the boat-builders’ order books full, so everyone is happy.”

Lakeland Leisure worked with various boat-builders to trial the new-boat market over several years, before teaming up with Kingsground Narrowboats and Bickerstaffe Boat Company. “We are now the dedicated sales arm for these brands,” explains Louise. The quality craftsmanship, attention to detail and passion that both builders exude is why we’re so excited to work with both Kingsground and Bickerstaffe,” says Mark.

Going large at Crick
This feature was written just before the 2023 Crick Boat Show, where Lakeland Leisure has rolled out the barrel with an exhibit comprising four boats, including ones from Kingsground and Bickerstaffe. “It’s our largest stand to date. In fact, it’s four times the size of our stand last year which only had one boat on display,” says Mark. “We know from our years as holiday-park operators that it’s vital to be present at shows, and for boaters and boat businesses, Crick is the place to be. It’s great to see so many of our customers each year at the show. It’s important for us to meet others in the trade and keep our finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the industry.”

The Lakeland Leisure ethos
“We’re a second-generation family-run business and that does make us rather different,” insists Louise. “All of the directors are still customer-facing – we’re out there talking to our customers directly. It matters to us.”

It’s a principle that extends into every aspect of the Lakeland Leisure brand. “We’ve built a trusted brand and people are loyal,” says Mark. “We treat our customers well and, in return, they come back time and time again, because they know we’ll be there to look after them.” 

This is evident in the brokerage and boat-sales areas of the business, where the traditional approach has been to make a sale at any cost. “We’re more interested in making sure the buyer gets a boat that suits their needs,” says Mark. “Our entire team understands that selling the right boat for the right reasons is the only way we do business. We strongly believe that if we don’t do it right it’ll come back to bite you. You might not hear about it but bad business means the customer probably won’t come back.”

Caring for customers
The company has teamed up with a project launched by Kingsground Narrowboats to understand boaters’ mental-health issues and is investigating how they as marina operators can address the problem. “We can certainly focus on and enhance the community and social side of boating, and there’s a lot we can learn from boat clubs and cruising clubs in that respect,” says Mark.

Lakeland Leisure: 
a family-run business
Founders: Phil and Carol Morgan
Managing director: Mark Morgan
Directors: Louise, Claire and Lorraine Morgan oversee the operation of marinas, holiday parks and the busy Gamekeeper’s Inn pub and events venue in the Yorkshire Dales.

Lakeland Leisure Estates

lakelandleisuregroup.com
info@lakelandleisuregroup.com

01539 821381