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A Guernsey-based company established to invest in the international marina sector has joined AIM. Camper & Nicholsons Marina Investments (C&N) raised £34.1 million (euro50 million) after it issued 50 million new ordinary shares at almost 70p each.

C&N will use the proceeds to buy, develop and manage an international portfolio of new and existing marina and related real estate.

These investments will be supervised by an independent board comprising five directors with real estate, marina, City, corporate governance and offshore investment management experience chaired by George Kershaw.

Following the IPO, several real estate institutional fund managers have become shareholders in the business. C&N’s three-strong management team, comprising chief executive Nick Maris and directors Nicholas Papanicolaou and Sir Christopher Lewinton, bought more than 4% of the shares issued.

Maris said the institutions that have bought the company’s shares are an endorsement of the strength of the sector the company is targeting. “We have now built up a pipeline of prospective investments and the funds raised will support the acquisition of some euro100 million (£68.5 million) of marinas. It is interesting to note that we are the sole listed entity entirely focused on this attractive asset class.”

The IPO was managed by Arbuthnot Securities, which was appointed nominated adviser and broker. The firm was also joint financial adviser and placing agent with Cantor Fitzgerald Europe.

Cantor’s team was led by banking specialists Marc Blazer and Anthony Argyropoulos while Scott Hartzell and Nimish Shah co-ordinated the capital market issues of the deal for the firm.

Blazer said the firm has raised capital for a number of maritime shipping companies and was approached by C&N in early 2006 to advise on raising equity capital for yacht marina projects.

“An AIM-listed closed end fund structure was selected as the most appropriate vehicle to fund the various marina developments C&N was involved with,” he added. “Following a temporary cooling off period from May through August, work on the transaction continued in earnest resulting in the admission on Monday.”

“C&N is a world renowned brand in yachting and the marina sector is enjoying strong fundamentals providing yachting enthusiasts Nick Maris and Nick Papanicolaou with a unique opportunity in a niche business.”

The legal issues of the IPO were managed by Stephenson Harwood, which introduced Carey Olsen to C&N’s directors as Guernsey advocate. Its team was led by Nigel Carey, a partner in its Guernsey Corporate Group.

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