UK caravan park company Parkdean Resorts is reported to be laying plans for a £1 billion sale or stock market float.
The firm, which owns more than 70 holiday sites, is in talks with investment banks in preparation for a deal later this year, sources told the Sunday Times.
The company was formed last November through the £960 million merger of the caravan giant Park Resorts and its smaller rival Parkdean Holidays.
The combined business has 1.8 million customers a year and made an underlying profit of £90 million last year. It employs 1,400 permanent staff and 3,800 seasonal workers.
Parkdean’s private equity owners, Electra and Alchemy Partners, are putting the finishing touches to the merger and are then expected to turn their attention to offloading the business.
Investment bankers expect Parkdean to come up for sale in the last three months of the year. Insiders said it could also head to the London market, with a valuation of between £1 billion and £1.2 billion.