Holiday camp Butlin’s wants to buy one of rival Pontins abandoned resorts, it has emerged.
The boss of Butlin’s revealed it contacted Pontins’ owner Britannia Hotels about taking over its sites in Southport, Merseyside, or Prestatyn, north Wales.
Pontins in Southport closed without warning in January, after Prestatyn - along Camber Sands, East Sussex - at the end of November. The closures were a big blow to the local communities, with fears about what would happen to them. Britannia Hotels, controlled by tycoon Alex Langsam, bought Pontins in 2011. It has been accused of under investing in the business.
Jon Hendry Pickup, managing director of Butlin’s, said its agents had contacted Britannia Hotels about saving one of the North West camps - but had yet to get a response.
“We would definitely still be interested,” Mr Hendry Pickup told the Mirror. “We would definitely like a conversation with them.” Referring to the Pontins’ Southport, he said: “It is an existing site so there is no need to dig up the countryside.”
Were it to get the site, he said it would most likely flatten what is there now, meaning it would be a longer-term investment. The Southport and Prestatyn camps are attractive to Butlin’s as it does not have a resort in North West England, and it unlikely to start one anywhere else from scratch.
Butlin’s three existing resorts are in Minehead, Somerset, Bognor Regis West Sussex, and Skegness, Lincolnshire. The closure of the three Pontins sites comes as Butlin’s prepares for what it predicts will be a record year, with guest numbers set to top 1.5 million.
Accounts for last year have yet to be released but turnover in 2022 jumped 54% to £290.4million from the prior year, which was hit by the Covid crisis.
Butlin’s is part way through a £150million programme of investment which runs until 2027. Plans include a £15million indoor activity centre at Bognor Regis and over 100 brand new and luxury lodges at Skegness.
Mr Hendry Pickup said it had returned to its roots, with a focus on good value, action-packed holidays for families. “The mission is to give loads of things to do,” he said. “The mission isn’t to relax - if people want to do that, we aren’t for them.”
TV presenter Stephen Mulhern - a former Butlin’s Redcoat - is among acts due to perform this summer, plus The Masked Singer.
It also runs Big Weekender events to help fill its resorts out of the peak summer season. They have proved a big hit, with this year’s line-up including Atomic Kitten, Jason Donovan, and Chesney Hawkes. The gigs have helped Butlin’s year-round occupancy rate go from 77% in 2018 to around 93%.
Butlin’s history
Founded by Billy Butlin, who started his career as a travelling showman, with the aim of providing affordable holidays for ordinary families.
His first resort, in Skegness, opened in April 1936, and within a year it had doubled in size.
Resorts followed at Clacton, Ayr, Pwllheli, Bognor Regis, Mosney, Minehead and Barry Island. It even had one in the Bahamas.
Many had funfair rides - Billy Butin is credited with bringing dodgems to the UK - roller skating, boating and beauty pageants. There were also its famous talent contests, complete with knobbly knees competition.
Over the years, resorts have also featured everything from monorails, glass-sided swimming pools to ski slopes.
Butlin’s has gone through various owners and, with it, many of its sites either closed or were sold.
In late 2022, US private equity giant Blackstone agreed to sell Butlin’s to the Harris family for £300million. Billionaire Peter Harris is now its ultimate owner.