An Indian millionaire could buy Pontin’s, securing 850 jobs at the the holiday park which fell into administration on Friday.
Bhanu Choudhrie and his family’s investment vehicle C&C Alpha Group could team up with the Dubai Royal Family to buy the business for up to £15 million, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Administrators KPMG are confident they will find a buyer and have pledged to keep the parks – Brean Sands in Somerset, Camber Sands in Sussex, Pakefield in Suffolk, Prestatyn Sands in Wales and Southport in Merseyside – open.
KPMG plans to appoint a leisure operator this week to help them run the business and has pledged to honour all bookings.
The Indian entrepreneur told the newspaper he had looked at the business six months ago when Pontin’s chief executive Ian Smith was searching for potential investors.
When asked about the previous talks, Choudhrie said: “We walked away from the deal, even though we travelled to two sites and spent £100,000 on due diligence.”
Jane Moriarty, of administrator KPMG, today said she had received numerous expressions of interest from third parties, one of which could be an indirect representation from C&C Alpha Group.
A sale process was likely to take two or three months, she added.