17 May 2023
Center Parcs UK put up for sale with a price tag of £5bn
BY Tom Walker
Center Parcs UK and its six holiday villages have been put up for sale by its Canadian owner, Brookfield.
The private equity group – which specialises in property and renewable power – is believed to be looking for around £4bn-£5bn for the business, which it acquired from US-based private equity group, Blackstone, in 2015 for £2.4bn.
Brookfield's plans to sell the business come at a time when interest rates are expected to increase even further – which could put some investors off.
However, according to the Financial Times, the sale is believed to include around £2bn in existing debt, which could make a deal easier – as raising new financing could be difficult on the current climate.
According to its latest full-year results, Center Parcs' sales quadrupled to £503m in the year to April 2022, compared with the pandemic-affected year before. EBITDA was £245.6m.
Center Parcs opened its first UK park, Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, in 1987, before opening new sites at Elveden Forest, Longleat Forest, Whinfell Forest and Woburn Forest.
In 2019, it opened its first village in Ireland at the Longford Forest near Ballymahon in County Longford, adding to its five English sites.
In 2021, Center Parcs announced plans to develop a seventh site in Southern England. The company had secured an option to acquire 553 acres of privately owned woodland in West Sussex, but pulled out of the deal due to environmental concerns.
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