Historic WWII boat's Ipswich cruise business for sale

Why it matters: The vessel has operated dining and charter cruises on the River Orwell for 13 years, and its sale raises questions over the future of one of Ipswich's more distinctive hospitality businesses.

The details: The asking price of £150,000 includes furniture and fixtures valued at £120,000. Turnover and net profit figures are available on request.

• The business is owner-operated and trades as part of River Cruise Restaurants.
• The reason given for the sale is the owner downsizing ahead of retirement.
• The listing states the business has been recently surveyed, and that "reasonable handover and training will be provided to support a successful transition of ownership."
• The vessel is described as relocatable.

For context: The Allen Gardiner was built in 1942 by the Miami Shipbuilding Corporation in Florida, one of twenty identical "Miami 63" launches operated by the South African Air Force during the Second World War as air-sea rescue boats, nicknamed "crash boats". Deployed in pairs around the South African coast, these vessels are credited with saving the lives of more than 600 survivors from 153 ships sunk by German U-boats and surface craft during the war.

The boats were built for speed, with a lightweight double-planked hull and four 500-horsepower engines in tandem driving two propellers, giving a maximum speed of 42 knots – about 50 miles per hour. Some did not survive the war; the rest were sold into private hands, the last as late as the 1970s, going on to work as fishing charters, disco boats and harbour cruise vessels.

The Allen Gardiner joined the Lady Florence cruise restaurant business in Durban, South Africa, in October 2002, when she was modified for fine dining with a commercially-equipped galley and deck-level toilets. She underwent a six-month rebuild in 2011, replacing all planking above the waterline, before relocating to Ipswich in 2013 due to the logistics of running two businesses 6,000 miles apart.

By the numbers: The vessel carries up to 12 passengers and operates all year round, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, offering breakfast, lunch, supper and dinner cruises departing from Fox's Marina, passing under the Orwell Bridge towards Felixstowe and Harwich.

The bottom line: After more than a decade cruising the River Orwell, the historic WWII vessel-turned-restaurant is looking for a new owner.

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