Description
Boutique Dive Center in Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand
6.5 million Thai Baht/$198,000
Reefer’s Dive Resort is a legacy boutique dive center ranked 20th out of all SSI centers in Thailand.
We are ideally situated directly on the waterfront of Haad Yao beach a few steps from the sea. Haad Yao caters to an upmarket demographic of families and professional couples. Our location is in the ideal spot to attract their attention and business. The beach remains popular and busy even during the low season, so our customer base is reliable. The mix of younger couples, parents, teenagers and children keeps discovery dives, open water courses and advanced continuing education courses in roughly equal demand. This gives us a dynamic revenue stream with high-earning but time consuming courses nicely balanced out by the daily profits from lower-resource fun dives and DSD’s.
We moved from our former location less than 3 years ago to a new, air-conditioned concrete building with an attached equipment room and a tank room close to the road for easy loading. We also replaced all of our kit with brand new Aqualung Calypso regulators, Wave BCD’s and Aqualung i300C computers. Since two of those three years were lost to Covid, all of it is still in virtually mint condition. We have 60 aluminum tanks with up to date hydro tests and a Coltri compressor with 7 yokes and a 40% continuous-flow nitrox rig.
We have two boats. Our larger vessel, Reefer 1, is a 16m (52ft) former fishing boat which we overhauled in 2009 and outfitted specifically for diving. It can comfortably hold up to 30 people with full kit. Our smaller boat is a 4m skiff with room for 3 – 4 divers. It’s made from fiberglass and has a very shallow draft even when fully laden, ideal for shore dives and exploring the many tidal caves in the rocks around the beach. We anchor it directly in front of the shop so it has no marina fees.
Our business model is based on maximizing the unique resources available to us in such a way that our revenue flow and customer satisfaction complement rather than detract from each other. Our beachfront location gives us access to a sprawling house reef with ample shallow sand patches for confined water training. This eliminates the logistical hassle and expense of maintaining a pool or using a public one. We save between $800 and $1200 a year on pool fees and taxis. It also minimizes the hourly rates of our instructors but makes their day substantially easier and shorter. For customers who want a more relaxing experience, our skiff can quickly take them farther afield and drop them directly into the best parts of the reef without suffering through a slog in full kit and a 20 minute surface swim at either end. We profit by saving resources and time without diminishing the experience of our customers or our instructors
Sail Rock is by far the most popular local dive site and it regularly appears on top ten lists of the best dive sites worldwide. Reefer 1 anchors at the closest inhabited point to Sail Rock and makes the 11 mile/17km trip in about 60 – 80 minutes. The abundance and variety of marine life easily rivals Sipadan and Ras Mohammed but it also has the rare advantage of being a cleaning station for whale sharks. Sightings peak in the summer but remain possible throughout the year. The record for consecutive sightings is 28 days in June 2018
The pandemic has made the last couple years a bust but Thailand is pushing hard to make entry easier, so the clouds are beginning to break. We have started getting dozens of inquiries every day and the tourism is already picking up. We therefore aren’t convinced of the pessimistic projections in the media. Cambodia scrapped all special entry requirements last December and saw a 1200% increase in tourism arrivals within five working days. There is no reason to think Thailand will not do the same, with the same result. Anyone who likes diving will be almost desperate to get in the water. Non-divers, at the very least, won’t be interested in doing any more laying around
During pre-pandemic high seasons we were regularly turning profits of 40-50% thanks to the cheap local operating costs and the relative premium price of diving. High season typically lasts from late March through September. Outside of that window there are still plenty of people around. The monsoon season in November is really the only time of year that business really gets slow, but it also affords the opportunity for maintenance and repairs. We have a close working relationship and credit with Aqualung Samui on the neighboring island. They handle the servicing and major repairs, and we source equipment from them at cost. Anything we order, if in stock, comes via speedboat the following afternoon at the latest, if not the same day
Our asking price is 6.5 million Thai Baht/$198,000 which is the professionally appraised value of all our assets, our name and our media presence.
This price includes:
900 sq. foot shop with Asus desktop computer, filing system, flat screen TV, equipment room and detached tank room, full compliment of servicing tools and all material needed for the full range of SSI courses.
16m/52ft wooden-hulled custom dive boat. 34 integrated tank rings, additional 60 tank storage capacity in forward hold. 800L fresh water tank, shower, toilet, kitchenette. 315 HP Hino turbo engine with 9 knot cruising speed. Sun deck with 20 pax capacity, enclosed cabin holds additional 4-5 pax.
4m fiberglass skiff with a 25HP Tohatsu outboard engine
60 aluminum tanks, all under 2 years old, with up to date hydro and visual tests.
4 side-mount tanks
Coltri MCH6 Silent Single Phase Compressor with 7 yokes and 40% continuous-flow Nitrox.
20 Aqualung Calypso regulators
20 Aqualung Wave BCD’S
7 Aqualung i300C computers, 4 compasses, 3 flashlights.
Aqualung Storm open-heel fins in the following sizes:
SXX – 8
S-SX – 6
M – 6
L-XL – 5
XXL – 3
We also have 20+ closed-heel Mares fins from our old stock in case of shortages
31 rental masks with snorkels
24 Aqualung rash vests
13 Aqualung wetsuits
Over $6,000 worth of retail merchandise. Includes rash vests, masks, T-shirts, key chains, mask defogger, water bottles and stainless steel reusable drinking straws.
Full control of our website and very well established Facebook and Instagram accounts, which have 4,000 and 1,300 followers respectively. Many of them regularly stay in touch
All necessary documents and full transition support. Our registration includes the provision for 2 foreigner work permits each valued at $450
Any further support, advice, introductions etc.
For more information please contact us!