Month: April 2021

PUSHING £20M STAYCATION BUTTON

Posted on April 26, 2021

PUSHING £20M STAYCATION BUTTON

PARK HOLIDAYS UK is investing £20m on new facilities as staycations continue to boom

Park Holidays UK is investing more than £20 million in its 30-plus parks this year as families seek top-end experiences in the UK as an alternative to going abroad. The company’s shopping list includes an order for 350 luxury-grade caravan holiday homes which has been placed with British manufacturers, hard-hit by the pandemic. New leisure centres, swimming pools, landscaping projects and children’s activities are also being developed as advance bookings recently reached a new record peak: “We’re braced for the busiest season in our 30-year history, and we’re determined to give guests and holiday home owners the best possible time,” said director Tony Clish. “Bookings across our parks tell us that we’ll not be waiting until summer before the holiday year starts in earnest – spring is already looking like peak season. “News of parks re-opening on 12 April, the ban on overseas travel, and the success of the vaccine roll-out has given an extra shot in the arm to the UK’s tourism industry. “That’s why our board of directors has authorised a spend of more than £20 million on hundreds of top-grade accommodation units, and new guest facilities.

RAISING THE BAR
“Our aim is always to constantly raise the bar on both the quantity and the quality of what our parks provide to people on both short breaks and longer stays. “This is especially important to us now because many bookings are coming from families who took a staycation with us in 2020, perhaps for the first time in years. “They clearly enjoyed the experience, so we want to welcome them and everyone back with facilities and attractions which will prove that UK holidays really are unbeatable,” said Mr Clish. Work is almost complete, he said, on a new £2 million pool at Dovercourt Holiday Park in Harwich, and a £1 million entertainments venue at West Mersea Holiday Park on Essex’s Mersea Island. Mr Clish added that sales of holiday homes are also rocketing, and that more than 200 new luxury lodges, villas and holiday caravans have just been released on new park developments.

INVESTORS SWOOP ON UK MARKET

Posted on April 26, 2021

INVESTORS SWOOP ON UK MARKET

DUE TO THE COVID crisis, UK holiday parks are attracting a new group of higher- spending consumers.

The revenue of the UK’s top 25 holiday parks has increased by 65% in the past five years, validating major investment in a sector that has performed strongly during the pandemic, says New Street Consulting Group, the leadership and people solutions consultancy. The incomes of the Top 25 holiday park groups have increased from £1.61bn in 2014/15 to £2.67bn in 2019/20. Even before the lockdown, warmer summers and a weaker pound are factors that have contributed to the rise in popularity of staycations in the UK, increasing by 14% between 2014 and 2019*. New Street Consulting Group says this long term rise in staycations has been one of the major factors behind the investment of private equity firms in this sector. Blackstone, the private equity giant, recently acquired Bourne Leisure, the UK’s largest holiday parks provider, whose estate includes Butlins. US based private equity fund KKR purchased Roompot, one of Europe’s leading holiday parks providers, in June last year, whilst Away Resorts is now owned by UK based private equity house Bregal Freshstream. New Street Consulting Group says holiday parks have been a surprise winner of the Covid crisis, having attracted a new group of higher- spending consumers who have been unable to or opted against going on cruise holidays or travelling internationally. The low density of guests at holiday parks makes them particularly suitable for social distancing, with groups being able to stay in separate buildings from other holiday-goers.

PRIVATE EQUITY
Several private equity houses that own holiday parks are embarking on large scale capital investment programmes in order to cater for increased demand. Parks are undergoing significant programmes of premiumisation in accommodation, food service and activities to ensure that clients gained in 2020 are retained when the market for cruises and other overseas holidays reopens. Investment is also being made into apps and digital enablement that allow customers to order food and book activities/entertainment without having to leave their lodges or mix with other guests. Richard Lindsay, Director at New Street Consulting Group, says: “Despite its fair share of challenges and impacts on income, the UK staycation sector is booming, with the holiday park industry in particular being one of the strongest performing parts of the leisure sector during the Covid crisis.” “Private equity funds’ interest in the sector is only going to continue. PE houses see holiday parks as a long- term growth prospect and not just a flash in the pan during the year of coronavirus.” “The changing demographics of those who visit holidays parks is likely to increase the speed of change in the sector. The opportunity to improve the perception of parks for the long term through major capital investment programmes is now likely to accelerate as we head towards summer 2021.”