Fantastic floating barge Airbnb business in Tarbert, Argyll, for sale

The Barge

Harbour Street, Tarbert, Argyll, PA29 6UB

•       Extremely unique accommodation business

•       Presented to a high standard throughout

•       4 e/s letting rooms within converted barge

•       Currently moored within picturesque Tarbert harbour

•       Standalone opportunity or as a bolt onto existing business

•       2022 t/o C. £100,000 producing strong profits

•       Could be relocated under new ownership

•       Ideal lifestyle business opportunity

Freehold: Offers in the Region £125,000

Situation

The Barge commands a unique trading location moored within Tarbert Harbour directly overlooking the marina within the pleasant fishing village of Tarbert, Loch Fyne, Argyll. Located on the picturesque West Coast, Tarbert is regarded as the gateway to the beautiful peninsula of Kintyre.

Tarbert has a wide range of amenities including Primary and Secondary education, medical centre, dentist, local supermarket, pubs and hotels and is the last stop before the Islay Ferry service at Kennacraig, which makes it very popular with overnight visitors before their visit to the “Whisky Isle”.

The surrounding area is ideal for the outdoor enthusiast.  There are walks available within the village of Tarbert and beyond with opportunities for cycling, sailing, golf, fishing, bird watching, shooting and diving to name just a few.  Other ferry service departs daily from Tarbert to Portavadie via CalMac.

Throughout the year Tarbert hosts a variety of music, food and boating festivals/events, with the most famous being the seafood festival and the Scottish Sailing Series, which is Scotland’s biggest sail racing event. For visitors it is the ideal base from which to explore the beautiful islands of the Inner Hebrides as well as the Kintyre and Mid Argyll areas. Campbeltown Airport is c. 45 mins and Glasgow International Airport is c. 2 hours drive. Tarbert is served well by City Link bus route to/from Glasgow/Campbeltown as well as other local bus routes to surrounding areas.

The Property

“Dolfijn” is a Dutch flat bottom barge built in 1923, with an overall length of c. 36m and is of a steel riveted construction. Previously converted into a static floating café, our client converted the barge completely in 2016/2017 into 4 superior ensuite letting bedrooms. Recently the barge has been painted and the bedrooms have had a refurbishment, which present the business to a high standard both internally and externally.

Internal Details

Access to the barge is given directly from Harbour Street via an aluminum gangway, leading to what would have been the wheelhouse. This bright and airy foyer is well presented, with panoramic views of the harbour, gives access to the letting bedrooms. Access to the letting bedrooms is via a passageway on the portside of the vessel.

Letting Rooms

Each of the 4 letting bedrooms are presented to a high standard with ensuite facilities. They are bright and airy, with feature windows and glass portholes on the starboard side of the barge, making for extremely unique views, as the rooms are below sea level with the windows just on the waterline. Flat screen TV, tea and coffee making facilities and free WiFi are also available.

Business

Our clients previously operated the Barge as additional letting rooms for their other hospitality business which was sold in in 2021 and have continued to operate the Barge as a successful, stand alone, accommodation business which has built up an excellent reputation in the area, for offering accommodation like no other.

The property is rated highly on national booking sites including booking.com and TripAdvisor which help direct guests to stay throughout the year as well as more local business.

Turnover for this year will be in the region of £100k, which make ideal as a bolt on to an existing business or run as is currently, producing high levels of profitability, with very little costs.

For guests arriving they are informed 48hrs before of their room number, which is left with a key in the door, by the housekeeper in the morning. The Barge bookings and enquiries are currently run remotely by a manager with the assistance of housekeeping, offering an ideal lifestyle business opportunity.

Annual berthing costs are c. £6,600 pa.