Friday, 25 February 2022: Parkdean Resorts, the UK’s largest operator of caravan, lodge, cabin, glamping and camping holiday resorts, announces the divestment of Hayling Island holiday park in Hampshire to RoyaleGroup, for an undisclosed sum.

The park has over 450 pitches, and is an idyllic island escape stunning Blue Flag beaches. All 54 staff at the park will continue to be employed by RoyaleGroup, and holiday home owner contracts will also be honoured by the acquiror.

The sale follows a boom staycation summer for the sector, as British holidaymakers made the most of the UK’s beautiful beaches and countryside. Parkdean Resorts experienced a surge in bookings for summer 2021, and was at 100% capacity for July and August, as well as record bookings for September and October. As a result, the company recruited record numbers of staff to cope with the seasonal rush, and extended the season into November 2021.

Following the £70m investment in 2020, Parkdean Resorts made a record £80m investment in its estate in 2021, focused on buildings, facilities, maintenance, health and safety, and environmental areas. The company is also testing a “parks of the future” initiative in 10 locations to create state-of-the-art amenities including accommodation, park facilities and kids’ activity-based entertainment such as the Bear Grylls Survival Academy.

Steve Richards, Chief Executive Officer of Parkdean Resorts, said:

“Hayling Island is a beautiful park in a prime location, with a thriving community of holiday home owners and guests. We’re delighted to have agreed a sale with Royale Group, who look forward to welcoming the Hayling team, holiday home owners and holiday guests for the coming 2022 season. There is a strong demand for good value, self-catering holidays in the UK, and Hayling lsland is well placed to benefit from that ongoing trend.

“The team at Parkdean Resorts is focusing on our concept of ‘parks of the future’, with £150m invested over the last two years in state-of-the-art amenities including accommodation, park facilities and family activity-based entertainment. We are determined to deliver best-in-class staycations, so that our holiday home owners and holiday guests can create amazing memories with family and friends during their time with us.”

Robert Bull, Chief Executive Officer of RoyaleGroup, added:

“Firstly, I would like to say a huge thank you to the management team at Parkdean Resorts for their professionalism throughout this process.We officially launched RoyaleResorts in 2020 to add a holiday and leisure brand to our ever-growing RoyaleGroup portfolio. We have seen RoyaleResorts quickly establish itself as a unique player within the holiday industry and Hayling Island brings so much to our offering.

We have always admired Parkdean for its high standards, investment in people, and quality holiday parks. I would like to reassure the team at Hayling Island that the future is extremely bright, and that we look forward to making moments to remember for the holiday homeowners and guests of Hayling Island.”