The company behind the Haven holiday parks and Warner Leisure hotel chains is planning a breakup that will lead to separate auctions of the businesses. Sky News has learned that Blackstone, the private equity giant that holds a controlling stake in Bourne Leisure, is gearing up for a sale of Haven as early as next year. A disposal of Warner would then follow any transaction involving its sister business, according to sources familiar with the matter. The group, which has already appointed independent chief executives at the two subsidiaries, is now concentrating on further operational and financial separation.
Bourne Leisure, which has been under Blackstone’s ownership since 2021, attracts millions of visitors to its sites annually. The group also owned Butlin’s until 2022 when the holiday parks business was sold to the Harris family, the group’s co-founders, in a deal valued at around £300m. Since acquiring the business, Blackstone has injected over £550m into the holiday parks and hotels portfolio. Last year was reported to be a record one for Haven, with 3.6 million annual bookings, marking a 13% increase.
However, financial accounts for 2023 reveal that the company incurred a pre-tax loss of just over £166m. Bankers have not yet been appointed to oversee the sales of the two businesses, according to insiders familiar with the company. Blackstone has chosen not to provide a comment on the matter.
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