A COMPANY which formerly owned Watchet Marina has finally been wound up three year after it went into administration.

Cardiff-based Marine and Property Group (MPG) took over the marina in 2021 from Watchet Harbour Marina Ltd for an undisclosed sum and was close to agreeing a 200-year lease with freehold owner Somerset Council before it went bust.

MPG was run by Danish national Christopher Odling-Smee, aged 56, who lives in Switzerland, who promised to invest in rehabilitating the harbour to make it accessible again.

The deal was overseen by then-Somerset West and Taunton Council executive Cllr Marcus Kravis.

It followed complaints of mud building up and a lack of maintenance which saw the number of boats in the marina drop from 150 to fewer than 30.

But, the problems continued under MPG and boat owners complained of broken promises as the marina was run down both on its landside and in the harbour.

It was saved by Western Marinas Ltd, which bought the company’s assets for £4.317 million in the autumn of 2024.

MPG also owned four marinas in Wales and a number of other companies and had total debts of £16,594,886 and assets of £2,810,000 when it went into administration.

Now, it has been revealed MPG was dissolved earlier this year with only one creditor, its largest, TAB London Ltd, receiving £2,696,650 of the £13,852,008 it was owed.

Joint administrator Damian Webb, of RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP, said in a report there was no money to pay any other creditors.

Mr Webb said MPG had been served by HMRC with a winding up order and it would have required ‘significant funding’ from a third party to make the company solvent.

Watchet could become the UK's first Town of Culture.
The company which formerly owned Watchet Marina has now been wound up. (Tindle News)

He said: “This was deemed to be unachievable in any event, due to the historic levels of debt across the group and poor performance over the previous few years.

“Further to this, there was a lack of financial information that meant any funding would likely occur outside of the desired timeframe to refinance the company.

“The administration appointment was taken ahead of the winding up hearing to ensure the company avoided being wound up via a liquidation.”

Mr Webb said MPG, which was a holding company for the various marinas and four other associated companies, had been ‘materially under-capitalised’ for the 18-months before the administration, which happened in April, 2023.

He said the company had only been able to continue trading by delaying payments to creditors, including its employees, suppliers, and finance providers.

Mr Webb said: “Trading across the group was heavily loss-making, with certain marina sites and servicing and engineering divisions operating at a negative contribution level, alongside an unsustainably high central cost base.

“This ultimately led to a number of insolvencies across the group during 2023.”

Somerset Council has since granted a lease extension to Western Marinas which will run until 2201.

Watchet Boat Owners Association has expressed its appreciation of, and confidence in, Western Marinas after the new owners rapidly set about improving the faciities.