Riding high... profits at Center Parcs soar to £70m
IT ALREADY has one of the highest occupancy rates in the hospitality business and now Center Parcs has revealed profits to match.
Accounts for the upmarket holiday operator, which was bought by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management from private equity giant Blackstone two years ago, show sales for the 12 months to April 20, 2017, grew from £420 million to £440 million.
The previous year’s pre-tax loss of £6 million – caused by one-off financing costs – was turned into a £70.5 million pretax profit.
The company, headed by chief executive Martin Dalby, has five holiday parks in Britain, with the newest located in Woburn Forest, Bedfordshire.
Center Parcs is currently building its first holiday complex in the Republic of Ireland. The £203 million centre in Newcastle Wood, Co. Longford is due to open in 2019 and is expected to create 1,750 jobs.
It is likely to follow the format of the company’s other holiday parks, which cover about 400 acres and are in a woodland setting. They target families and offer activities including cycling and boating.
The firm, which paid £48.5 million to its parent company last year, said its parks had a 97.3 per cent occupancy rate.