North East leisure company Parkdean Resorts has unveiled plans to plough £50m into its portfolio of holiday parks, a month after it was sold to new owners in a £1bn deal.
The Newcastle-headquartered business – formed in November 2015 following the merger of Parkdean Holidays and Park Resorts – is investing in its accommodation, retail and leisure facilities in time for the 2017 season.
The company now runs 73 holiday parks nationwide, having bought Vauxhall Holiday Park near Great Yarmouth for an undisclosed sum last year in its first acquisition since the merger.
Parkdean - which was sold to Canadian private equity house Onex for £1.35bn in December - is to spend £17m on a new range of lodges, caravans and glamping facilities, as well as £4m on refurbishing its existing caravans and lodges.
The firm will also spend some £5.5m on overhauling entertainment and leisure venues and children’s activity areas at many of the UK parks.
Changes will soon be made at the Sandy Bay resort near Ashington, Northumberland, where a £1.4m makeover will unfold to result in more accommodation for holidaymakers and prospective owners, a refubished Boathouse Restaurant with al fresco dining terraces, a new bar and an indoor play area.
The amusement arcade is being extended and freshened up, and a new takeaway food outlet will also be added.
Elsewhere in the North, a £1.5m investment is being made in 19 marina retreat lodges at Fallbarrow in the Lake District, where there will be a revamped bar and lounge on park, and Cayton Bay near Scarborough in North Yorkshire will see a £900,000 upgrade to extend and refurbish its Boathouse Restaurant with an incorporated soft play area and dining terrace. A new fish and chip takeaway will also open this season at the park.
Meanwhile, in the Scottish Borders at Berwickshire park Eyemouth, £550,000 will be spent on a full refurbishment of the entertainment complex with a new glazed extension to house the amusement arcade and Boathouse Restaurant with entertainment area.