US-listed Sun Communities snaps up Park Holidays for £900m
A New York-listed real estate investment fund has reportedly won a fiercely contested auction to snap up UK staycation giant Park Holidays.
Capitalising on the post-lockdown staycation boom, Sun Communities has made an offer in the region of £900m to pick up the company’s 42 UK caravan holiday parks, Sky News first reported.
The deal is expected to be announced officially on Monday, with Sun Communities entering the race at a later stage according to reports.
It comes after the US company, which owns and operates manufactured housing communities, recreational vehicle resorts and marinas reported booming revenues in the third quarter of 2021.
Total revenues increased $283.8m, or 70.9 percent, to approximately $684.3m up from $400.5m for the same period in 2020. Net income increased 185.4 percent to approximately $231.8m, or $2 per diluted common share up from $0.83 per share for the same period in 2020. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, total revenues increased by 70.6 percent, to $1.7 billion – up from approximately $1.0 billion for the same period in 2020.
The winning bid for Park Holidays saw Sun Communities beat competition from rivals who included the Universities Superannuation Scheme, one of the UK’s largest pension funds, and prominent real estate investor, Starwood Capital.
The rise of staycations has kicked off a wave of deals to purchase UK holiday operators of late.
Bourne Leisure, the owner of holiday park chains Butlin’s and Haven, was sold in February to Blackstone, a major buyout firm, for about £3bn.
Keen to cash in on the recent demand in staycations across the UK, holiday let firm Travel Chapter last month announced plans to float in London.
Read more: London float: Staycation demand convinces Travel Chapter it’s time to go public