Pontin’s goes into administration
Pontin’s website as of Friday night
Holiday park operator Pontin’s has been placed in administration.
KPMG has been appointed administrators to the company, which employs around 850 staff across the UK.
It operates five sites in Brean Sands in Somerset, Camber Sands in Sussex, Pakefield in Suffolk, Prestatyn Sands in Wales and Southport in Merseyside.
A statement from KPMG said all five sites continue to trade as normal and no redundancies of park staff have been made.
"The administrators are in the process of appointing an experienced leisure operator to the company so that it continues trading and to ensure that guests’ holiday expectations are met," it said.
"It is the administrators’ current intention to honour all reservations."
Jane Moriarty, joint administrator and restructuring partner at KPMG, added: "Pontin’s is an iconic British brand which forms the backdrop to thousands of treasured family holiday memories.
"It has unfortunately struggled in the current economic environment but, with some support from new management, we are optimistic that it will be part of thousands of family memories in the years to come.
"From day one, we will be actively running Pontin’s to ensure that our guests’ holiday expectations are met. Any customers with queries about their holiday plans should call our dedicated helpline.”
Interested parties should register their interest with Sandra Lister at KPMG corporate finance: 0161 246 4901.
The administrators have set up a helpline number for customers, which will be operating from Monday 15th November: 0844 576 8481.
Pontin’s was established in 1946 and was bought by Oceans Park for £46m in 2008.
In February 2009, Ocean Parks announced a £50 million investment to develop the next generation of Pontin’s holiday park.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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