Ground-breaking British inland surfing centre The Wave reopened on Tuesday after abruptly closing last week.
The wave pool surf complex, near Bristol, reopened at 6.30am on Tuesday morning, with all sessions due to run as scheduled.
The sudden closure came amid a financial dispute, where its majority former owners Sullivan Street Partners claimed the site had been grabbed at a low value.
But The Wave’s founder, Nick Hounsfield, who had resigned from the board in late April, posted a video on Instagram and Facebook yesterday backing the new owners and calling on surfers to get behind them.
The Wave Group has, according to its website, been acquired as a part of a ‘financial restructure’ by a group of investors who asked Surfing England chairman Julian Topham to step into the role of chief executive.
Topham, who founded and runs the Boardmasters festival, said there would be a ‘short period of transition’ as the firm changes hands.
When The Wave opened under Hounsfield in 2019, it was at the forefront of the emergence of wave pools offering world-class surfing on mechanically generated waves to the public.
The Wave, near Bristol, has reopened to surfers after suddenly closing last week
The Wave’s website is up and running but no new bookings can be made by customers.
The firm said it will ‘get in touch’ with people who had their bookings cancelled last week ‘as soon as we possibly can.’
Topham asked for patience while a new team get together to fully reopen The Wave and restart online bookings.
He said in a statement online: ‘We appreciate there has been huge uncertainty in the last week, for so many people, especially our wonderful Wavemaker staff, customers, and partners, so a big thank you for your understanding.’
He added: ‘There will be a short period of transition as a company changes hands and we get up to speed, but we are doing everything we can to make this as smooth and as fast as possible, and get The Wave open again.’
In a video on social media from the Bristol site, The Wave’s founder, Nick Hounsfield said Topham had ‘high ethics and is an exceptional leader.’
In his Instagram post, Hounsfield said: ‘Just reflecting upon the last couple of days. It’s been a storm. The Wave has so much of my heart and soul in it and it’s been so distressing to see something close to me go through so much turmoil.
‘I’ve just come in to The Wave to check in on the team. They are working hard to get The Wave open ASAP. As ever, they have stepped up to the task and there is a lot of positivity and excitement. A lot to do… but working hard.
‘I’ve had a chance to catch up with the new CEO Julian Topham and his team. He has been asked to step in as CEO to get The Wave back to where it deserves to be, the heart of a vibrant and inclusive surf community and a force for good.
‘I’ve known Julian for over 15 years. He has high ethics, is an exceptional leader and operator, and has enormous respect both in the surf community and in building epic events across the UK. He also recently took over from me as Chairman of Surfing England.
‘I ask everybody who loves The Wave to really get behind Julian and his team as they look to get The Wave back to where it deserves to be. It feels like a fresh start.’
Allegations from former majority owner
Last week, former owners of The Wave alleged that the business, under the entity Surf Bristol Limited, was sold on the cheap.
In a statement, former majority owners Sullivan Street Partners claimed the Bristol-based enterprise was ‘sold by Administrator BTG’ on 27 June, having been placed into a technical insolvency the previous day.
Sullivan Street Partners alleged: ‘A previous minority shareholder and individuals associated with the shareholder chose to pursue financial returns, significantly acting out of step with their moral fiduciary duties.’
Elsewhere in the statement, Sullivan Street Partners claimed the process had been undertaken with the objective of ‘grabbing the business at an undervalue and prejudicing other creditors in the process.’
The statement also alleged that certain assets had been ‘appropriated illegally with systems being hacked and frozen.’
Sullivan Street Partners claimed that The Wave Group had ‘simultaneously been the victim of a cyber attack with all data having been stolen.’
The former majority owners noted that it was not clear whether the ‘cyber attack’ was connected to the other ‘assaults on the company.’
Sullivan Street Partners said that until 5.55pm on 27 June, The Wave Group had been preparing to open on 28 June, but that this had became ‘impossible.’
The statement added that The Wave Group still planned to open a new surf complex in London in 2027 and ‘has several other opportunities under development.’
Sullivan Street Partners said they were ‘sorry for the upset the actions of others have caused.’
An earlier statement from Sullivan Street Partners this week, said The Wave Group had ‘lined up a refinancing alongside its exciting London developments, which would see all creditors repaid in full within a week and is offering to continue to operate the park.’
This is Money contacted administrators at BTG for comment.
What happened at The Wave?
Last week, The Wave, abruptly closed.
The closure came with no warning, with surfers and users of the site booked in arriving to closed doors and an apology written on a sign.
Highlighting how suddenly the saga deteriorated, on Wednesday The Wave was posting on social media about an upcoming surf festival being held at the centre next month.
The Wave opened in 2019 and cost £26million to build. The unique complex could generate up to 1,000 waves per hour.
Since opening, the site provided surfing facilities for all abilities, catering for disabled visitors, total beginners and veteran surfers.
The Wave’s power supply stems from solar and battery storage and since 2019 the complex has welcomed 400,000 people.
The Wave was brainchild of Hounsfield, a British entrepreneur who wanted to build a unique business that had a positive social impact.
Hounsfield did not come from a background in property or business, but was an osteopath, who said he started with £500 in his bank account and managed to raise the money to build his dream.
Since May, The Wave’s founder, Hounsfield, has not been a director of the business.
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