Blackstone has sold Butlin’s back to the Harris family.
The family sold the seaside resort business to Blackstone as part of Bourne Leisure in January last year. The £3bn deal handed the US giant control of the three remaining Butlin’s resorts – at Skegness, Minehead and Bognor Regis – along with the Haven and Warner Leisure Hotels businesses.
Now the Harris family, one of the founders of Bourne Leisure, is buying the iconic business back in an estimated £300m-plus deal.
Paul Harris, on behalf of the Harris Family Trusts, said: “We are delighted to reaffirm our love for Butlin’s and once again be the new owners of this great brand. We look forward to working alongside the Butlin’s leadership team as they strive to deliver their strategic plan for the business and help them accelerate their investment plans to give our Butlin’s guests an even better holiday experience.”
Last month, the UK’s largest private pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme, confirmed that it was buying the underlying real estate assets of Butlin’s for £300m.
Butlin’s was founded by Billy Butlin in 1936 to offer fun and inexpensive seaside holidays to all – “a week’s holiday for a week’s pay” was an early slogan. Its popularity has shrunk from its peak between the 1950s and 1970s, when it owned dozens of resorts, including one in the Bahamas, hotels in the UK and Spain, and the revolving restaurant at the top of the BT Tower in London. The three remaining resorts have been experiencing something of a revival, with more than 1.5m guests staying each year.
Lionel Assant, European head of private equity at Blackstone, said: “Butlin’s is in a strong position to take advantage of the continued growth in the staycation market, and I have no doubt it will continue to flourish.”
However, he was confident that the Haven and Warner businesses were a better fit for Blackstone. “Staying true to our high-conviction investment approach, we believe we are well positioned to drive the continued success of both the Haven and Warner businesses.
“Proceeds from the Butlin’s sale will enable us to continue delivering our ambitious investment programmes across both brands, supporting upgrades to the existing estates and adding new sites to the portfolio, to the benefit of millions of customers.”
Bourne Leisure was founded by the Harris family, along with the Allen and Cook families, in 1964. It bought Butlin’s, along with Haven and Warner, in 2000 from the Rank Group for £700m. Rank had purchased Butlin’s in 1975 for £20m.
Under the Blackstone deal last year, the founder families have retained a stake in Bourne Leisure.
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