Staycation Giant Park Holidays Attracting Interest From University Lecturers’ Pension Scheme
Sky News is reporting the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) is among the bidders vying to take over Park Holidays, one of the biggest resort operators in southern England.
Another indication of the strength of the UK Holiday market, USS is among the preliminary bidders for Park Holidays, the owner of more than 30 sites across the south of England. City sources reported that USS had submitted an initial offer in recent weeks, pitting it against interested private equity firms.
A precise valuation for Park Holidays was unclear on Wednesday, but it is expected by analysts to be worth over £500m – well above the £362m that ICG paid to buy the company from Caledonia Investments in 2017.
As previously reported the pandemic’s impact on overseas travel has spurred a glut of domestic holidays in Britain, with that trend expected to continue into next year and beyond.
Other recent buy outs in the sector have included CVC Capital Partners buying Away Resorts – the owner of well-known holiday parks such as Whitecliff Bay on the Isle of Wight and Sandy Balls in the New Forest – and subsequently combining it with Aria, another operator.
Bourne Leisure, the owner of Butlin’s and Haven, was sold in February to Blackstone, another major buyout firm.
