The Aqua Marine portfolio is much more diverse with offerings from cookers through deck hardware to steering, paints and trailers. Aqua Marine also has a large general chandlery range. Both companies will trade under their existing names.

"We've got a deadline to be operational from Hedge End as of January 4, " said Gordon Coventry, head of sales and marketing. "The increased mass of combining the two operations gives us full coverage of the marine leisure business."

Avoiding the kind of problems that beset another large distribution company a while back, Coventry says they decided against running separate computer systems. "We're standardising on the IBM Navision that we have and which Aqua Marine was about to update to."

They hoped to complete the integration of the Aqua Marine portfolio onto the Bainbridge system by Christmas.

The existing Bainbridge Unit 8 in Flanders Park has been modified to take additional staff and Aqua Marine stock will be in Unit 5. "We have a new lease on Unit 5 that which almost doubles the amount of space we have, " said Coventry.

"Aqua Marine warehousing will be in Unit 5, but it's just a walk across the car park."

There will be changes in personnel. "Ivan Steele will be staying with us for the next year, " said Coventry. "A small number of people will not be relocating, but Mike Capaldi, David Murray and Mike Foster will be coming and the sales team is intact."