Park Resorts

History

Park Resorts was created in March 2001 when CBPE (Close Brothers Private Equity), in partnership with a management buyout team of three led by David Vaughan, purchased twelve Haven freehold caravan parks from Bourne Leisure Ltd. The deal was finalised in May 2001 at a reported cost of £46m.

In December 2004 Park Resorts was sold to ABN AMRO Capital for £165 million, and its activities were merged with the GB Holiday Parks business (itself bought by ABN AMRO for £105m just one month previously) to form the second-largest caravan park operator in the UK. The name 'Park Resorts' was retained as the company name and brand title.

In March 2007, the business was acquired in a highly leveraged buy-out backed by GI Partners for £440m. In the same year, the three founding directors left the business and Martin Grant joined from Roadchef as Chief Executive and a further three sites were acquired this year, with a number of GB Holiday Parks sites upgraded as well. In April 2008, GI injected £15m capital into the Parks Resorts business. In December 2008, in increasingly difficult trading conditions, GI reinstated the original three directors, with David Vaughan resuming as chief executive. Since then the financial position has improved.

During the 2009 season Andy Edge, the Marketing Director at Park Resorts, went 'undercover' at Breydon Water, Great Yarmouth and Lower Hyde, Isle of Wight as part of the Channel 4 television series The Undercover Boss. In an interview after the show Mr Edge told how the show has generated a very positive response from both customers and staff.

In September 2009, Martin Grant, the former chief executive and his colleagues Colin Bramhall and Richard Hunt, won a case of unfair dismissal against GI Partners on the grounds of a "flagrant breach of dismissal procedures" and were awarded £45,000 in compensation.

In October 2009 a restructuring of the group's £325m debt facilities was agreed with the main creditor banks which also included a new £25m senior debt facility to allow a five-year investment programme to proceed.

Two further parks were brought under the operation and branding of the group as from the 2010 season, the Bryanston Kenmore sites at Southview, Skegness and at Manor Park, Hunstanton, bringing the total to 39.

The director's report for the year ended 31 March 2011 details a 6% increase in turnover for the year to £158.8m and an operating loss of £9.6m but forecasts the company should return to profit in future years. In the meantime the company is dependent on the parent, Dome Holdings Ltd, to keep it a going concern.

In 2011 the company introduced the strapline, Creating Amazing Memories, to appear below the logo of Park Resorts on all publicity material, letterheads and signages. During the week of 9 May 2011, the ITV programme This Morning featured Park Resorts to show "the real caravan experience to viewers". This also marked the 10th anniversary of the company.

In October 2011 Park Resorts was ranked 244 (2010 = 215) in the annual Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250 league table based on Britain's biggest mid-market private companies by latest sales.

In February 2012 Park Resorts was ranked 49 in The Sunday Times Deloitte Buyout Track 100 league table based on Britain's mid-market private-equity-backed companies with the fastest-growing profits over the last two years. (note: profits used by Fast Track for this ranking are based on the parent, Dome Holdings Ltd)

In July 2013 Park Resorts secured new lead shareholders, Electra Partners, and appointed a new CEO. The company also refinanced its debt package, freeing up significant capital to invest in its parks over the next four years. David Vaughan became Park Resorts’ chairman, following 12 years as founder and CEO, and David Boden joined the company as CEO, having held senior board level positions at Rank Group Plc and Hippodrome Casinos Ltd.

In September 2013, the Park Resorts management team and Electra Partners led the acquisition of South Lakeland Parks, a holiday parks operator with 9 parks in the English Lake District and Morecambe Bay area. Park Resorts entered into a contract to manage South Lakelands parks at the time of the transaction. Operating together, the two businesses created the largest holiday parks operator in the UK with 48 properties.

In July 2014, Electra Partners acquired Southview and Manor Park holiday parks in partnership with Park Resorts, which will continue to manage both parks, having done so since 2010.

In April 2015, Park Resorts acquired Summerfields Holiday Park near Great Yarmouth and in May 2015, Alan Parker CBE was appointed Chairman of the Group.

In 2015 Parkdean and Park Resorts merged to create 'Parkdean Resorts'. Parkdean Resorts operates 73 holiday parks, serves 1.8 million customers, has 22,200 caravan owners, 35,400 pitches and sells 400,000 domestic holidays across their estate. The business will operate from two head offices in Newcastle and Hemel Hempstead and continued to operate under two brands "Parkdean" and "Park Resorts" during 2016 and still has separate websites as of 2017. The merger created the largest holiday park operator in the UK and purchased "Vauxhall Holiday Park" in Great Yarmouth in 2016.

Holiday Parks

Park Resorts offer holiday accommodation, holiday or seasonal touring pitches or holiday home ownership. Static caravans for holiday let are available at 44 Parks, and for ownership at 46 Parks. Touring and/or camping pitches are available at 24 of the Parks. Chalets and holiday lodges are also available for hire and to buy at selected Parks. Most Parks are open from around 21 March to 31 October, and slightly longer for their owners.

The following sites are currently operated under the Park Resorts business,

Devon

Isle of Wight

Kent & Sussex

Essex

East Anglia & Lincolnshire

Yorkshire

North East England

Scotland

Wales

North West and Lake District

( ‡ denotes parks not offering camping and/or touring facilities)

Former parks

Mascots

Park Resorts' mascots consists of three characters, two of them being anthropomorphic rabbits in a group called 'Sparky's Krew'. 'Sparky', is the main mascot of Park Resorts. he is a happy go-lucky rabbit with cream coloured fur with yellow hair. He wears a blue short-sleeved shirt with green shorts and red and white shoes. The second mascot, 'Sparkle', is a rabbit (same as Sparky) but with pink fur with white patches. She has a cheerful personality and is always happy to help. She is seen wearing a tiara, a pink tutu with jeans and pink and white shoes. She is good friends with Sparky and is into fashion and beauty. The last character is 'Naarky'. A blue creature with pink eyes and blue fur. He is seen wearing only a cape. He despises Sparky and aims to become the next leader of the crew. The characters are seen in a live production at Park Resort sites called 'Live With The Krew'. In 2016, the complete of the merger of Parkdean Resorts, Sid and Lizzie from Parkdean joins Sparky, Sparkle and Naarky, and the merger of Starland and Sparky's Krew, became the 'Starland Krew.