Brunswick Corp. purchases Freedom Boat Club

A new corporate owner has acquired the Freedom Boat Club franchise, which includes locations in Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach and St. Augustine, officials said this week.

The terms of the deal with Brunswick Corp. were not disclosed, but the members-only boat club said its management team led by John Giglio has been retained. The three local Freedom Boat Club franchises at Beach Marine, Julington Creek Marina and Camachee Cove Marina are co-owned by Lisa Almeida and Kevin Seelig.Headquartered in Mettawa, Ill., Brunswick Corp. is market leader in the marine, fitness and billiards industries.

“We are excited to have this leader in marine services as our new corporate owner,” Almeida said. “We are looking forward to the support they will provide to us as franchisees and the new products and services they offer. We are also happy to continue working alongside John and his team as we continue to introduce new boaters to the benefits of Freedom Boat Club membership.”

Over the last five years, the members-only Freedom Boat Club has nearly doubled its location footprint and operates about 185 corporate and franchise locations worldwide. At least 20,000 members have access to a fleet of about 2,200 boats. Members have access to the home club’s fleet and can reserve a boat using an online reservation system.