THE OWNERS of Aberystwyth marina say they will compensate their staff over late payment of wages.

Last week, the Cambrian News was told that staff were ‘on their knees’ over late payment of wages, which they said had been an ongoing issue since February.

At the time, this was denied by the Marine Group, who own Aberystwyth marina, but this week, a director confirmed that there was disruption to payroll due to the re-banking of major parts of the company, but this has now been resolved.

The Cambrian News was told last week that staff were still waiting to be paid for September, with one source saying: “Staff are continually not sure when they will receive any of their salaries from month to month.”

Chris Odling-Smee, one of the directors of the Marine Group, spoke again to the Cambrian News this week and said: “Generally stresses in the debt markets (and not on our account) meant we necessarily had to re-bank major parts of the group during 2022.

“Agreed credit lines could not be drawn during this process which along with capex commitments in excess of £1.5 million across the group presented us with unexpected working capital constraints.

“These constraints meant that there was disruption to payroll (which of course is group wide) which we view as a private affair within the business.

“We care passionately about our team and we are planning to compensate them for the inconvenience of the period of disruption.

“With our new banking deals completed and replacement working capital facilities now in place matters are now settled.

“There is no connection whatsoever with the levelling up fund and the business at this stage.

“The creditor schedules for Aberystwyth Marina Ltd are less than £50,000 which is not material or significant.”

The Marine Group owns Aberystwyth marina along with Dinorwic in Gwynedd, Burry Port, Cardiff marina and Wachet in Somerset

Mr Odling-Smee also said that the company would be looking at new acquisitions in the coming months, saying: “We are planning an acquisition programme for 2023 and beyond and expect the rapid growth of the group to continue albeit we see major disruption in the debt and investment markets over the next 24 months.”

On the issue of small claims action over an unpaid bill amounting to £10,000, he added: “We have only one commercial dispute which we will resolve. It is a dispute rather than an issue of payment.”