Center Parcs UK
 |
|
| Industry | Leisure |
|---|---|
| Founded | July 1987 |
| Headquarters | Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom |
|
Number of locations
|
5 villages |
|
Area served
|
United Kingdom |
|
Key people
|
Martin Dalby (chief executive) |
| Products | Short breaks, family holidays, leisure activities |
| Owner | Brookfield Asset Management |
| Parent | Brookfield Properties Corporation |
| Website | CenterParcs.co.uk |
Center Parcs UK is a short-break holiday company which operates five holiday villages in the United Kingdom, with each covering about 400 acres (1.6 km2) of woodland. The company's first village opened at Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, in 1987 and its fifth, at Woburn Forest, Bedfordshire, opened in 2014.
A similar enterprise operates in continental Europe also under the name Center Parcs, however the two companies are separately owned. Center Parcs UK marked its 25th anniversary year in 2012.
In 1968, Dutch entrepreneur Piet Derksen purchased woodland near Reuver so that staff and customers of his 17 store sporting goods chain could relax in small tents. The park, De Lommerbergen, was successful and tents were quickly replaced by bungalows. In 1987, Center Parcs opened its first UK resort Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire. This brought the company into the sights of expanding brewer Scottish and Newcastle, who subsequently bought the group.
During a move in 2001 to concentrate on their core brewing business, Scottish and Newcastle sold the UK side of Center Parcs to venture capitalists Mid Ocean. In 2003 S&N sold the mainland European sites to a joint venture of France-based Pierre & Vacances (P&V), who already owned the competing Gran Dorado Resorts, and German investment group DBCP. The two companies have since operated under the same brand, but ever since have been owned and operated by two separate and different companies.
In December 2003 Mid Ocean agreed to sell the UK resorts to Arbor Ltd for £285 million, a special vehicle set up to float Center Parcs UK on 's Alternative Investment Market. However, after flotation in May 2006 Center Parcs UK Group PLC was sold to Blackstone Group, and subsequently re-registered as a private company. Under a separate deal at the same time, Blackstone also bought the freehold of the European sites from P&V, which allowed them to rebrand all of the European sites as Center Parcs.
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