Buying a marina or marine service business in South Florida

South Florida has 124 established marinas and marine service businesses by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 73% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.

124

established companies

73%

built over 20+ years

$317k+

a year, earned by the top quarter

34%

built over 30+ years

What it takes to own one

Marinas and marine service businesses in South Florida come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.

A solid company

Earns about: $124,000 a year
Price about: $329,000
Your cash: $46,000
Could pay you: up to $65,000 a year

A strong company

Top quarter in South Florida

Earns about: $317,000 a year
Price about: $840,000
Your cash: $118,000
Could pay you: up to $166,000 a year

One of the leaders

Top tenth in South Florida

Earns about: $926,000 a year
Price about: $2.5 million
Your cash: $343,000
Could pay you: up to $483,000 a year

Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 2.6 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.

Age, size and location

Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.

In business	Companies
Under 20 years	34
20 to 29 years	48
30 to 39 years	25
40 years or more	17

Estimated yearly revenue	Companies
Under $1M	30
$1M to $2M	9
$2M to $4M	5
$4M to $8M	4
Over $8M	5

County	Companies
Palm Beach	38
Broward	33
Miami-Dade	29
Monroe	24

Town	Companies
Miami	18
Deerfield Beach	6
Fort Lauderdale	6
Key Largo	6
West Palm Beach	6
Marathon	5

What the best marinas and marine service businesses have in common

Full slips and storage racks, tenants who have stayed for years, and a waitlist.
Docks, seawalls, forklifts and lifts in good repair, with inspection and maintenance records.
A state submerged land lease in good standing, if the docks sit over state-owned water bottoms.
Fuel tanks that are registered, insured and tested on schedule.
Factory-trained technicians who have been there for years, and a service manager who isn't the owner.
Good water access: enough depth at low tide, and no low fixed bridges for the boats you serve.
Revenue spread across storage, fuel and service, so one slow line doesn't sink the year.
A hurricane plan that has worked: haul-out procedures, tie-down rules, and insurance that paid when it mattered.

What to check before you buy

Have a marine engineer survey the docks, pilings, seawall, travel lift and dry stack racks. Waterfront repairs are slow to permit and expensive to build, and they can't always wait.

Get the submerged land lease, its term, the rent history and any compliance letters, and ask DEP's Division of State Lands what it would take to transfer the lease to you. Pull fuel tank registrations, leak detection records and any past discharge reports. A boatyard that has done years of bottom painting and engine work deserves an environmental assessment before you buy the land or sign a long lease.

Get your own insurance quotes early, including windstorm and flood, rather than relying on the seller's policy, and ask what past storms cost in damage and lost months. Review the slip and storage agreements: rates compared with nearby marinas, deposits, and any abandoned or unpaid boats, which can be slow to remove. Finally, check that zoning allows every use on the site, from fuel sales to boat repair.

Questions to ask the owner

How many slips and racks are rented right now, and how long is the waitlist?
When were the docks, seawall and forklifts last inspected or rebuilt?
What happened here in the last few hurricanes, and what did insurance pay?
Is the submerged land lease current, and has DEP raised any issues?
Which engine brands are your technicians certified on, and would they stay?
How much of your revenue comes from storage, how much from fuel and how much from service?
Are there any abandoned boats or unpaid storage accounts on the property?

To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a marina or marine service business in Florida.

Owning a company in South Florida

The local economy

South Florida covers Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties: Miami, Hialeah, Doral, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Jupiter, and the Florida Keys down to Key West. It's the state's largest metro area and its most international. PortMiami, Port Everglades and Miami International Airport tie the region to Latin America and the Caribbean, which supports a deep base of wholesalers, freight forwarders and logistics firms, many of them near the airport. Tourism and cruises, finance and wealth management, health care, real estate and construction carry much of the rest. Palm Beach County adds wealthy seasonal residents and, out west near Lake Okeechobee, sugarcane and vegetable farms. In the Keys, nearly everything turns on visitors, fishing and boating.

Companies that serve homes, condo buildings and other businesses do well here: the building trades, property services, insurance agencies, medical and dental practices, and professional firms.

What's different about owning a company here

Costs run high: commercial rent, wages and, above all, property and windstorm insurance. Price the insurance before you make an offer, not after. Miami-Dade and Broward make up the Florida Building Code's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, with stricter rules for roofs, windows and structures. That raises building costs, and it also gives steady work to the contractors who know those rules well.

Much of the workforce and many customers speak Spanish as well as English, and a company that works well in both languages has an edge. The winter season matters more in Palm Beach County and the Keys than in Miami. In the Keys, the cost of housing makes hiring and keeping staff one of the hardest parts of running a company. Ask any seller there how they find workers and where those workers live.