RUMOURS that a two-year time-limit on signing a new 200-year Watchet Marina lease had expired on March 31 - allowing the lease to revert back to its previous owner – have been denied by negotiators.

Many months of negotiation between the local authority, the current operators the Marine and Property Group Ltd (MPG), and previous owner businessman Tim Taylor were thought to have come to a standstill when MPG went into administration last month.

One source said: “The lease is likely to remain in the council’s safe until a lot of the remaining detail is sorted out.”

But a Somerset Council spokesperson told the Free Press the authority, which owns Watchet Harbour, had now signed its part of a lease with Watchet Marina Ltd, a subsidiary company within MPG, and the deal would be completed when the group had completed its refinancing arrangements.

Watchet boat-owners received a letter at the end of April from the marina operator which said: “The administration has been put in place at the holding group level to assist in the ongoing refinancing of the group.

“The other companies within the group are unaffected and it remains business as usual for the marinas.”

The council spokesperson said: “MPG have negotiated an extension to the two-year offer period with Tim Taylor to reflect this.

“The voluntary administration of the holding group has no immediate impact on this and the marina continues to operate.”

In a statement to the Free Press, a Marine and Property Group spokesperson said: “The administration is technical to support the capital financing of the group.

“We will have more information on this in due course.

“The purchase agreement and option was legally extended earlier in the year and we remain focussed on concluding this agreement in parallel with the group financing deal.”

The Marine and Property Group took over Watchet Marina in March, 2021, and also operates four marinas in Wales and develops residential and commercial properties.