North East holiday park operator Parkdean Resorts could be sold by its Canadian owners amid the bouyant UK staycations market, it has been reported.
Onex Corporation, which acquired the Gosforth company in a £1.35bn deal at the end of 2016, is said to be mulling a sale to cash in on the booming UK holidays sector.
Parkdean Resorts - which was formed by the merger between Parkdean Holidays and Park Resorts in 2015 - has 67 parks across the UK, making it one of the biggest players in the market.
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Sky News is reporting that Onex Corporation is currently in discussions with investment banks over a potential auction of the business.
It is not known when the auction would take place, or what starting price tag would be placed on Parkdean, but the reports say that Onex could bring in more than it paid five years ago.
The rumoured sale talks come at a time of investment within the Parkdean Resorts portfolio.
The group – which has parks in coastal locations as well as areas of natural beauty – has seen demand for holidays rocket since lockdown restrictions have eased.
It has also taken advantage of rules and restrictions on international travel to tempt in many new customers.
In May the company confirmed plans to invest £70m nationwide, as well as plans to create three new ‘Parks of the Future’. The £70m investment for 2021 includes £22.5m spent on introducing more than 700 new caravans and lodges, £13m on maintenance and more than £12m on technology projects.
Within its five parks in the North East – Church Point, in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Cresswell Towers at Druridge Bay and Sandy Bay in Ashington, Crimdon Dene, near Hartlepool, and Whitley Bay – it was spending more than £1.6m to install and upgrade accommodation and facilities.
The holiday park operator also created 6,500 seasonal jobs across its UK estate, including many in the North East where it already employs around 400 people in its parks, plus a further 750 at its Gosforth headquarters.
Parkdean Resorts declined to comment.
