THE South Coast firm behind Sea Life centres, such as that in Portsmouth, is putting its expertise up for sale.

Merlin Entertainments currently operates 18 marine life centres in eight countries and has now launched Sea Life Aquarium Projects.

At the helm of the new operation is Grant Stenhouse, who has been with the company for the last 20 years.

"We have been building aquaria since 1979 and our expertise in display technology and the care of a diverse range of sea and freshwater creatures is unrivalled,'' he said. "The success of the Sea Life centres has helped generate a huge public appetite for aquariums around the world and we are now looking to capitalise on this by offering other developers our expertise in market research, design, construction and operation.''