Center Parcs UK goes up for sale with near £5bn price tag
Center Parcs holiday resort group is being put up for sale by its private equity owners with a price tag of up to £5bn aiming to cash in on the growing trend for domestic breaks kickstarted by the Covid pandemic.
Advisers to Brookfield Property Partners have been sounding out potential buyers over the past week, according to the Financial Times which first reported the move, with possible suitors expected to include other private equity firms.
Brookfield acquired Center Parcs UK – whose five resorts in Britain and one in Ireland are known for their tropical-themed indoor pools, spas and activities for kids – from Blackstonefor about £2.4bn in 2015.
The group had been hoping to build a new site in Worth Forest, West Sussex, but pulled out earlier this year after an outcry from wildlife campaigners.
The group fell to a loss in 2021 as it was forced to close its resorts and restrict entry at the height of the pandemic. However it bounced back to a £66m profit in the year to 21 April 2022, with sales more than quadrupling to £503m.
In recent years private equity has been piling into the UK’s domestic break sector amid hopes for growth prompted by the fall in the value of the pound, the cost of living crisis, environmental concerns and more interest in outdoor pursuits after a shift among Britons towards breaks in the UK prompted by pandemic travel restrictions.
Blackstone paid about £3bn for Bourne Leisure, which includes Haven Holidays, the caravan park operator, in January 2021. That same year CVC Capital Partners bought holiday park operator Away Resorts for £250m and then bought up Aria Resorts and Coppergreen Leisure to combine with it.
Sign up to Business Today
Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business
Read more on theguardian.com
