Center Parcs proprietor places vacation chain up on the market ‘for billions’

Center Parcs UK and Ireland has been put up on the market for a reported £4bn to £5bn, practically double what it was first purchased for simply eight years in the past.

It follows a story reported by Sky News final 12 months that Barclays had been appointed to advise on the way forward for the upmarket vacation villages.

The chain of six Center Parcs areas within the UK and Ireland is owned by Canadian personal fairness group Brookfield Property Partners. It was purchased for £2.4bn in 2015.

If a sale goes by, it will be one of many largest property offers of the 12 months.

Center Parcs is without doubt one of the most well-known British leisure manufacturers, attracting thousands and thousands of tourists yearly to its 5 UK websites and one Irish location in Longford.

At the top of final 12 months, Center Parcs reported occupancy charges of 97.3%, in keeping with pre-COVID ranges.

The firm booked income of £426.6m between April and December 2022, up 20% on 2021, and an 18% improve the 2019 pre-pandemic 12 months.

The websites supply a mixture of journey and leisure actions for households, corresponding to watersports and horse driving, in addition to spa packages.

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The first website was opened within the UK in 1987 at Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire.

Other UK areas are Elveden Forest in Suffolk; Longleat Forest in Wiltshire; Whinfell Forest in Cumbria; and Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire.

Earlier this 12 months Center Parcs introduced it was pulling out of plans to develop a brand new vacation village in Crawley, West Sussex, following “rigorous environmental and ecological site surveys”.

The UK and Ireland operations are individually owned by Center Parcs in Europe which additionally trades beneath the model.

Center Parcs and Brookfield declined to remark.