Awaze is to sell its holiday park business Landal GreenParks to Dutch holiday parks group Roompot for an undisclosed sum.
The managed vacation rentals group has reached a ‘definitive agreement’ on the sale of the group, which has a portfolio of about 100 holiday parks in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the UK, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
Roompot currently has more than 200 parks and holiday locations in central and southern Europe, including Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Spain. The company was bought by US private equity firm KKR in a deal worth one billion euros last summer.
The financial terms of the sale have not been disclosed but the completion of the deal is subject to normal closing conditions, including competition clearance.
Awaze’s managed vacation rentals business, which includes the cottages.com, Hoseasons, James Villa Holidays and Novasol brands, is not involved in the sale and remains part of Platinum Equity’s portfolio. Following the sale, it will have 90,000 accommodation options in 29 countries, catering for more than six million holidaymakers a year.
Agents will be able to book Landal’s UK parks through Hoseasons throughout the remainder of this year and next and current bookings are unaffected.
Awaze chief executive Henrik Kjellberg said: “Dirk Anbeek (Landal GreenParks chief executive) and the entire Landal team have done an outstanding job taking what was a good business and turned it into a great business. This transaction provides Landal [with] the right home for the future where they can continue to build an amazing experience for guests for the long term.
“At Awaze, we will continue building out Europe’s leading vacation rental management company, investing in our technology platform and upgrading the experience for our owners and guests. We have tremendous momentum, driven by unprecedented demand for rental properties across Europe. We are managing more vacation homes and delivering more stays than ever before.”
Landal GreenParks chief executive Dirk Anbeek said: “I am very proud of how we have been able to strengthen Landal in the past three years as the business has distinguished itself in sustainability and guest service and has seen strong commercial growth.
“We have also accelerated international expansion with high-quality destinations. I thank Platinum and everyone working at Landal GreenParks and Awaze for their tremendous efforts over the past years, and what has been achieved.”
Louis Samson, a partner at Platinum Equity which oversees the firm’s European operations, was hopeful the sale would be a “straightforward process”, adding: “I’m confident Roompot is the right partner for Landal going forward and I’m pleased we found a solution that creates value for everyone involved.”
Rothschild & Co is serving as financial advisor to Awaze on the sale and Latham & Watkins is serving as legal counsel.
Meanwhile, Awaze’s portfolio is likely to be expanded further in core locations in future, said Platinum Equity managing director Malik Vorderwuelbecke.
He said: ”There are significant opportunities to continue expanding the Awaze portfolio through targeted mergers and acquisitions in key geographies. The business has a lot of runway for continued growth.”
In May, Awaze announced three acquisitions, of Amberley House and Portscatho Holidays in the UK and Bornholmtours in Denmark, adding around 1,000 homes to the company’s existing portfolio.