Center Parcs agrees takeover offer
Center Parcs in the UK is to be taken over for £205.4 million by private equity firm Blackstone.
The deal has been agreed in part because of rising energy and labour costs amid the expense of developing a fifth holiday village near Woburn in Bedfordshire, funding and planning permission for which has yet to be secured.
Blackstone senior managing director Joseph Baratta said: “Blackstone intends to fund the significant incremental capital investment which Center Parcs requires to realise its growth potential, Additionally, Blackstone’s considerable experience in the leisure, hotels and resorts sectors will help develop the Center Parcs’ business.”
Center Parcs executive chairman Martin Robinson said: “As Center Parcs faces a number of material financial and operational constraints in the short to medium term, the board believes that the proposal represents an opportunity for Center Parcs’ shareholders to realise their investment in cash.
“At a premium of 16% on yesterday’s closing share price, it represents certainty of value today that may not be acheived in the short to mediaum term without a material degree of execution risk.”
The company attracted around 1.5 million visitors last year to its four 400-acre sites – in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire; Longleat, Wiltshire; Elveden Forest, Suffolk; and Whinfell Forest, Cumbria – and made a pre-tax profit of £12.65 million in the year to October.
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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