Two UK holiday sites have been acquired by Bridge Leisure Parks as a precursor to further expansion in the domestic travel sector.
The Sand le Mere Holiday Park in East Yorkshire and Trevella Caravan and Camping Park in Cornwall have been added within the last month.
Sand le Mere Holiday Park is located near Withernsea and has planning permission for more than 900 caravans with just 500 currently sited.
Trevella Caravan and Camping Park is a mixed camping, touring and static hire fleet park with planning for 377 pitches in total and is located between Newquay and Crantock in Cornwall.
BLP’s management team has been backed by Kings Park Capital, a private equity fund focused on investing in the leisure sector, and Yorkshire Bank to make the acquisitions which are intended to be the “seed” parks for a growing portfolio of businesses within the caravan holiday park sector.
Chief executive Andrew Howe said: “We have been watching for the right parks to acquire for some time and are delighted to have found both Sand le Mere and Trevella; both provide excellent development opportunities for us and will be a good base from which to grow.
“UK domestic holiday trips totalled 84 million in 2009, representing over £15 billion of spending. The number of holiday trips was 12% higher than the previous year, demonstrating the domestic holiday industry’s resilience in spite of the current economic climate.”
Company chairman Michael East said: “The UK domestic holiday market has been one of the strongest performers in recent years, and this has been particularly evident in the caravan park sector.”
Bridge Leisure Parks is also the owner of Bridge Leisure Management which continues to offer expert consultancy and management services to the holiday parks industry.