Holiday park chain Butlin's has been sold for £300m to the family which co-founded one of Britain's largest leisure resort companies, it has been announced.
Bourne Leisure Group and its controlling shareholder, US private equity firm Blackstone, agreed the deal with the Harris family, who jointly established Bourne Leisure in 1964. Bourne Leisure - the parent company of Butlin's, Haven Holidays and Warner Leisure Hotels - employs more than 16,000 staff and attracts 4.5 million guests to 56 sites across the UK every year.
Blackstone acquired Butlin's from the founding Harris, Cook and Allen families in a £3bn deal in January 2021. As part of that transaction, the families co-invested alongside Blackstone and together hold a minority stake in the business.
The Harris family has now taken back control of Butlin's under a newly formed company. On completion of the deal, Bourne Leisure will continue to operate its two heritage brands, Haven and Warner Leisure Hotels, Blackstone said.
Lionel Assant, European head of private equity at Blackstone, said: “Staying true to our high-conviction investment approach, we believe we are well positioned to drive the continued success of both the Haven and Warner businesses. Proceeds from the Butlin’s sale will enable us to continue delivering our ambitious investment programmes across both brands, supporting upgrades to the existing estates and adding new sites to the portfolio, to the benefit of millions of customers.
“Butlin’s is in a strong position to take advantage of the continued growth in the staycation market, and I have no doubt it will continue to flourish. We wish everyone there every success for the future.”
In May, Blackstone began an auction to offload Butlin's, which includes three resorts at Minehead, Skegness and Bognor Regis, from its business. Butlin's was founded in 1936 by Billy Butlin, who opened the first site in Skegness with the aim of revolutionising British seaside holidays and providing a “place of colour and happiness” for holidaymakers. Today, the holiday park chain attracts more than 1.5 million guests every year.
Paul Harris, on behalf of the Harris Family Trusts, said: “We are delighted to reaffirm our love for Butlin’s and once again be the new owners of this great brand. We look forward to working alongside the Butlin’s leadership team as they strive to deliver their strategic plan for the business and help them accelerate their investment plans to give our Butlin’s guests an even better holiday experience.”
In July, the UK's biggest private pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), confirmed it was buying Butlin's underlying real estate assets for £300m, leaving the wider holiday parks business still up for sale.
Paul Flaum, group chief executive of Bourne Leisure, said he was "immensely proud" of what Butlin’s had achieved over the past few years.
"It has been a privilege to work with the Butlin’s management team and I would like to thank both the Bourne and Butlin’s teams for their commitment and contribution to this great British institution over so many years," he said. Mr Flaum said Bourne Leisure would now focus on developing and growing its Haven and Warner brands.
"We have a tremendous opportunity, building on our success to date and working together with Blackstone, to create the most loved holiday and holiday home brands in the UK," he added.
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