Center Parcs sells for £285m

Center Parcs, the UK holiday parks business, has been sold for £285m and will be floated on the stock market.

Venture capital firm MidOcean Partners has sold the business to a takeover vehicle called Arbor, which is backed by brokerage firm Collins Stewart.

Arbor now plans to float the business on the Alternative Investment Market, the exchange for smaller businesses, after which it will rename itself Center Parcs UK.

In September, MidOcean sold its 50% stake in Center Parcs Europe, which operates parks in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Germany, to Pierre & Vacances for £189m.

Center Parcs UK has four holiday parks in the UK, at Elveden Forest in Suffolk, Longleat Forest near Bath, Oasis Whinfell Forest in the Lake District and Sherwood Forest near Nottingham and employs some 4,000 staff.

by Nic Paton

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