The Wave Bristol locked the gates unexpectedly last week. The shuttered June sessions left many guests with booked surfs scratching their heads. To complicate matters, the website went offline as well. Now, the website is back up. And the wave pool reopened as of today, Tuesday July 1.
So what’s behind the Bristol wave pool closure and re-opening? Why were 200 staff and untold surf park guests left hanging?
One source told WavePoolMag that Surf Bristol Limited, which operates The Wave Bristol was sold to Sea Level Wave Co. The sale, they explained, had nothing to do with how the business was running or customer engagement—it was purely driven by a financial technicality.
Early reports cited financial restructuring, with one group saying the closure happened after the bankruptcy of another funding partner.
What we do know is that Julian Topham is the CEO of Sea Level Wave Company. He is now named as the acting CEO of The Wave. Julian has experience across surf, music, and sustainability, having founded the popular Boardmasters events and chaired Surfing England as well as the Blue Earth Summit.
Nick Hounsfield Statement
Nick Hounsfield, who dreamed of and created the Bristol surf spot, posted to social media about the change. He shared his emotional connection to The Wave, praised the team’s efforts to reopen, and called the transition a fresh start.
“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,” he said in a social media post. “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.”
In the post Nick asked the community to get behind Julian Topham and his team, adding, “It feels like a fresh start.”
Julian Topham Goes On the Record
“The Wave is an extremely important part of the UK surf community and has the ability to grow and support a diverse and inclusive surfing community,” said Julian. “I want to ensure it stays that way, and thrives, for the long term.”
“We appreciate there has been huge uncertainty in the last week, for so many people, especially our wonderful Wavemaker staff, customers, and partners,” He continued. “So a big thank you for your understanding. 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.”
Bristol Wave Pool Closure and Re-Opening
While today’s reopening is a win for park staff and area surfers, many are still wondering what exactly happened. There is no clear answer at this time (that anyone is willing to speak of). Due to the lack of information, endemic surf platforms poured out a healthy pint of drama with headlines like “Britain’s Manmade Wave Dreams Crash as Second Wavepool Closes.” A well-circulated BBC story had many inaccuracies according to one source close to the events.
A Former CEO’s Input
WavePoolMag reached out to former CEO Craig Stoddart. He left The Wave in early 2023 to found Thinking Adrenaline and their flagship project, Bahrain Surf Park.
“I have a good relationship with all sides,” said Craig. “Whilst I haven’t been involved in the business since January 2023, I don’t believe that there is any financial reason as to why this needed to happen if contractual commitments where kept to. The sale to Sullivan Street Partners put the business on a much better footing following Covid. As far as I am aware, the operating business has been trading profitably throughout and the cash was available to meet commitments.”
For now, the good news is that The Wave Bristol is open again with staff showing up to work and surfers filing through for sessions.
This article is an update of an earlier story filed last week. Stay tuned as more details emerge.
