Three Butlin's resorts have a new landlord following a £300million deal to purchase the popular holiday venues. The Minehead, Skegness and Bognor Regis sites have each had ground rent deals or arrangements agreed according to Somerset Live, which says that the new landlord is the Universities Superannuation Scheme, the UK's largest pension scheme.
The pension scheme already boasts management of £3billion in assets - and now it has acquired the real estate of these Butlin's sites too. However, that does not mean that the entirety (or the wider holiday park business) of Butlin's has been snapped up. After being put up for sale by its current owners last year, it is still very much on the market - and is expected to fetch a figure as high as £700million amid a boom for holidays in the UK following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to City AM, head of private markets at USS Investment Management Mike Powell said: "We are very pleased to conclude this acquisition. Butlin’s is a much-loved British institution and this acquisition represents a significant investment in its future whilst providing the long-term cashflows that USS needs to pay the pensions promised to our members."
