UK holiday parks are hiring interims to help manage capex as lockdown gives them access to a new demographic.
Our latest research shows the revenue of the UK’s Top 25 holiday parks has increased by 65% in the past five years. The revenue of the Top 25 parks increased from £1.61bn in 2014/15 to £2.67bn last year.
Holiday parks have been a surprise winner of the Covid-19 crisis, attracting new groups of higher-spending consumers who were unable to or opted against going on cruise holidays or travelling internationally.
In order to capture and retain as much of that new demographic as possible interims are being hired to help manage capex programmes needed to move many of these parks up market.
Even before the lockdown, warmer summers and a weaker pound have contributed to the rise in popularity of staycations in the UK, with holiday parks benefitting as a result. The long term rise in staycations has driven a huge increase in investment from private equity firms in the sector.
Among the investments PE houses have made in holiday parks in recent years include:
- PE giant Blackstone acquiring Bourne Leisure, owner of Butlins
- US-based PE fund KKR purchased Roompot, one of Europe’s leading holiday parks providers
- Bregal Freshstream purchasing Away Resorts
Many PE funds are hiring external specialists on an interim basis to help transform the operating models of the parks, along with implementing large-scale capital investment programmes to cater for increased demand.
Interims across a range of disciplines are being hired to drive efficiencies and service levels and more attractive to a broader market post-COVID.
Richard Lindsay is the director of the leisure & hospitality practice at NSCG. If you are in need of any assistance with hiring talent for the next phase of your development or transformation plan, please get in touch.