Private equity firm Blackstone announced it is acquiring UK holiday company Bourne Leisure via funds managed by Blackstone Capital Partners and Blackstone Real Estate Partners, while the founding families (Harris, Cook and Allen) will retain a significant minority stake in the business.
Rumours of the deal were first mentioned last month. The acquisition will increase Blackstone’s presence in the UK leisure sector, as it already owns part of theme park specialist Merlin Entertainment. Bourne Leisure's brands include coastal resorts brand Butlins, caravan holiday parks operator Haven, and hotel company Warner Leisure Hotels.
Lionel Assant, European Head of Private Equity at Blackstone, said: “We are long-term believers in the UK and are delighted to invest meaningful capital, despite recent uncertainty, to support the recovery of a COVID-impacted industry, and wider local economies. We look forward to working in partnership with Bourne Leisure’s founding families, the management team led by Paul Flaum, as well as colleagues from Blackstone Real Estate, to further grow this great company. Our strong track record investing in the UK leisure sector will allow us to further enhance the Company’s unique, high quality assets across the country, and continue building on its success for guests, holiday-home owners and team members over the last 57 years.”
Paul Flaum, Group Chief Executive Officer of Bourne Leisure commented: “Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Bourne Leisure, for our guests, our holiday home-owners and our team members. We are delighted to be partnering with Blackstone who have demonstrated a real understanding of our business and sector, and we look forward to working together to deliver on our exciting plans for the future. We are also delighted that our founding families will continue to be involved in the business through their significant family minority co-investment. We see compelling opportunities to grow Haven, Butlin’s and Warner Leisure Hotels, as well as benefit from the increasing demand for UK domestic holidays.”