Holiday camp giant Butlin’s is reportedly considering a move to buy up the abandoned Pontins holiday park in Southport.
The sudden closure of the site in January sent shockwaves through the region. It came just two months after the closure of two other Pontins sites – Prestatyn Sands and Camber Sands in East Sussex.
Butlins’ boss, John Hendry Pickup, has revealed that his agents have contacted Pontins’ owner Britannia Hotels about taking over its closed-down locations in either Southport or Prestatyn, North Wales. However, they have yet to receive a response.
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Given its proximity to markets in the north west, Southport may be the frontrunner for potential acquisition. Mr Hendry Pickup said if Butlin’s was to buy the Southport site, it would likely demolish its existing structures, indicating a long-term investment plan.
“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 is 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 preparations for what it predicts will be a record year, with guest numbers set to top 1.5m.
Accounts for 2023 have yet to be released, but turnover in 2022 jumped 54% to £290.4m from the previous year, which was affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The company is part way through a £150m investment project, which runs until 2027. Plans include a £15m indoor activity center at Bognor Regis and over 100 brand new and luxury lodges at Skegness.
Mr Hendry Pickup said: “The mission is to give loads of things to do. 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 in Bognor Regis, Skegness and Minehead this summer. Other acts, due to appear at various Butlin’s Big Weekender events, include Atomic Kitten, Jason Donovan, and Chesney Hawkes.
Butlin’s was founded by Billy Butlin, who began his career as a traveling 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.
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.
