Electra Partners announces the acquisition of two further holiday parks

POSTED 04 August 2014

Electra Partners is pleased to announce the acquisition of Southview and Manor Park holiday parks from Bluebird Partners and a European bank for a total transaction value of £49 million. Electra Private Equity PLC ("Electra") has invested £20 million and Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance has provided an integrated debt facility. This latest investment takes Electra's total investment in the holiday parks sector to over £100 million following the refinancing of Park Resorts and the acquisition of South Lakeland Parks last year.

Southview and Manor Park are large and established holiday parks, Southview in Skegness, Lincolnshire and Manor Park in Hunstanton, Norfolk. Together the parks comprise more than 2,000 pitches, a nine-hole golf course as well as the four-star Southview Park Hotel. The acquisition has been made in partnership with Electra's existing portfolio company, Park Resorts, which will continue to manage both parks, having done so since 2010. This transaction cements Parks Resorts' position as the largest operator of holiday parks in the UK.

Alex Fortescue, Chief Investment Partner at Electra Partners, said:

"Having completed the refinancing of Park Resorts and the acquisition of South Lakeland Parks last year, this is the latest step in our consolidation of the fragmented and resilient holiday parks sector. This series of transactions demonstrates the flexibility of our investment strategy: what started as a position in Park Resorts' senior debt is now a controlling equity position in the UK's largest holiday parks operator.

"This is also the sixth bolt-on transaction Electra Partners has completed in the last year. These have tended to be off-market transactions with synergies which drive value in the portfolio."

David Boden, CEO of Park Resorts said:

"We are pleased to have been able work with Electra Partners on the acquisition of Southview and Manor Park. Park Resorts has managed these parks since 2010 so we were able to bring our in-depth knowledge and experience of the parks to bear on the transaction. We look forward to continuing to manage both parks and will carry on delivering a first-rate experience to their owners and visitors alike."

Alex Fortescue, Sarah Williams and Nicola Gray are responsible for the investment in Southview and Manor Park.

Today's announcement continues a busy 2014 for Electra following the £84 million investment in Hotter Shoes, the £82 million investment in Ogier Fiduciary Services, the £33 million co-investment in Innovia Group, the £15 million acquisition of Calrec and the further investments in CALA Group and Treetops Nurseries. In August 2014 the company announced its investment in professional audio mixing console manufacturer DiGiCo and the subsequent formation of a new professional audio group.

In the six months to 31 March 2014, Electra Partners announced a record six month period for investment, investing or committing £250 million, building on record levels of investments and realisations in the year to 30 September 2013.

Electra Partners refers to Electra Partners LLP acting on behalf of its client Electra Private Equity PLC.

Ends

 

For further information please contact:

For Alex Fortescue: 
Andrew Honnor and Matthieu Roussellier, Greenbrook Communications  +44 (0)20 7952 2000
Andrew Kenny and Nicholas Board, Electra Partners  +44 (0)20 7306 3902

 

Note to Editors:

 

About Electra Partners LLP

Electra Partners is an independent private equity fund manager with over 25 years' experience in the mid-market buyout sector. During the last 25 years it has invested in excess of £4.1 billion in over 200 deals. As at 31 March 2014, the firm had funds under management of over £1.5 billion including capital available for investment of circa £300 million.

Electra Partners' flexible investment strategy allows it to invest broadly across the private equity market with a particular focus on Buyouts and Co-investments, Secondaries and Debt. In addition to this, its long-term capital base means it is not constrained by expiring investment periods or exit pressure driven by fund raising cycles and is therefore able to realise investments only when returns are maximised for its investors.

The firm's major client is Electra Private Equity PLC ("Electra"), a private equity investment trust which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1976. Electra's long-term investment performance has been consistently superior to private equity and other benchmarks. Over the ten years to 31 March 2014, Electra has seen diluted NAV per share growth of 260% (equivalent to a ten-year annualised return on equity of 14%) compared to a 129% increase in the FTSE All-Share.

For further information please visit www.electrapartners.com.

Electra Partners LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

About Park Resorts

Park Resorts is the UK's leading holiday park operator with 39 coastal holiday parks across England, Scotland and Wales. The company employs over 2,500 staff during the peak holiday season and is headquartered in Hemel Hempstead. Park Resorts incorporates a holiday sales business as well as a highly successful and profitable caravan sales business.

In September 2013, the Park Resorts management team and Electra Partners led the acquisition of South Lakeland Parks, a holiday parks operator with 9 parks in the English Lake District and Morecambe Bay area. Park Resorts entered into a contract to manage South Lakelands parks at the time of the transaction.

Operating together, the two businesses created the largest holiday parks operator in the UK with 48 properties.

For further information please visit www.park-resorts.com or www.southlakelandparks.co.uk.

About Bluebird Partners

Bluebird Partners is an independent lower mid-market private equity investment firm. Bluebird invests in businesses that are high growth, experiencing challenging or complex situations and those that may benefit from performance improvement. In addition to financial investment Bluebird provide hands on assistance to support the business and their management teams in reaching their potential.

Since 2010 Bluebird has invested in 5 businesses with aggregate funds under management of just under £100m. The sale of Eastern Parks is Bluebird's third transaction of the year following the sale of Ski Verbier in June and the acquisition of Outlook Expeditions in February.

For further information please contact:

Guy Gillon, guy.gillon@bluebirdpartners.co.uk, +44 (0)20 7401 8831

PwC Corporate Finance

PwC Corporate Finance (Sean Williams, Dominic Wilkinson, Thomas Elliott and Jessica French) advised the Shareholders on the sale.