Epiris agrees £1.35 billion sale of Parkdean Resorts

POSTED 16 December 2016

Epiris is pleased to announce that it has agreed the sale of Parkdean Resorts, a leading UK operator of caravan holiday parks, to Onex Corporation, for £1.35 billion. The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2017, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Based on completion on 1 March 2017, Electra Private Equity PLC (“Electra”) would receive proceeds from the sale of c.£405 million, an uplift of £25 million and equivalent to an increase in its NAV of 50 pence per share on the valuation of its investment at 30 September 2016. Together with proceeds previously received, Electra’s total proceeds from the investment will be £515 million. This equates to a return of c.3.9x cost, and an IRR of c.46%.

Parkdean Resorts owns and operates 73 holiday parks across England, Scotland and Wales, selling more than 500,000 holidays and short breaks a year. The company offers a wide range of accommodation, from caravans and camping pitches to chalets, apartments and lodges. Parkdean Resorts employs over 6,000 staff during the peak holiday season and is headquartered in Hemel Hempstead and Newcastle, UK.

Epiris originally invested £70 million in the acquisition of term debt in holiday parks operator Park Resorts in 2012, before leading a consensual restructuring of Park Resorts' debt facilities in 2013, following which funds managed or advised by Epiris became the majority shareholders. The restructuring allowed Epiris to implement its business plan which was based on accelerating organic growth through increased investment and growing through acquisition. Between 2013 and 2015, Park Resorts completed three add-on acquisitions, including South Lakeland Parks ("SLP") and Southview and Manor Park holiday parks ("SVMP"). In November 2015, Park Resorts, SLP and SVMP were merged with Parkdean Holidays in a transaction that gave the enlarged company an enterprise value of £960 million, and since then as Parkdean Resorts one further acquisition has been made.

Alex Fortescue, Manging Partner at Epiris, said:

“We are proud of our investment in Parkdean Resorts and in many ways it represents what differentiates Epiris from the crowd. Through a series of bank-related acquisitions and 11 individual transactions we have transformed our original Park Resorts debt position into joint control of a very high-quality, market-leading business with profits of more than £100 million.

John and the team have done a tremendous job in developing the business and we are delighted to see Onex picking up the mantle for the next stage of growth.”

Alex Fortescue and Sarah Williams are responsible for the investment and the exit of Parkdean Resorts. Rothschild & Co  advised on the sale and Clifford Chance advised on legals.

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

Ends

Note to Editors:

About Epiris LLP
Epiris is a top-decile private equity fund manager with over 25 years' experience. During this time it has invested in excess of £4.7 billion in over 200 deals. As at 30 September 2016, the firm had funds under management of £2.2 billion. Epiris’ flexible investment strategy has allowed it to invest broadly across the private equity market, principally in Buyouts and Co-investments as well as loan-to-own debt.

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 five years to 30 September 2016, Electra has seen NAV per share growth of 141%, equivalent to an annualised return of 19%.

Over the same time period Electra’s share price total return has been 231%, more than twice the total return of the FTSE-250 index and more than three times the total return of the FTSE All-Share Index. Electra’s shares have outperformed the FTSE All-Share by 24% per annum on a risk-adjusted basis.

For full details of Electra’s results for the year to September 2016 or for further information please visit www.epiris.co.uk.

Issued by Epiris Managers LLP which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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