A holiday park operator that lodged controversial plans to expand one of its caravan sites has been sold to an American real estate trust for a whopping £182million.

Park Leisure, which owned Twin Ghyll Caravan Park at Paythorne, near Gisburn, has been sold to Sun Communities, an American firm which also acquired the Park Holidays group in November.

Last year, Park Leisure 2000 Ltd applied to Ribble Valley Borough Council to change the use of almost 17 hectares of farmland to create space for an extra 62 caravans.

But in January, borough councillors refused the application at a planning meeting attended by a community protest group based in Paythorne village.

Ribble Valley: Plan to expand caravan park near Gisburn refused

The proposals included building a sewerage treatment plant and pumping station and carrying out other work at the site, which currently has a licence for 325 caravans on an existing similar-sized plot.

Lancashire Telegraph:

More than 60 objections were received about the plans - Paythorne Parish Council, the Woodland Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and Bowland Game-Fishing Association were among them.

At the time the application was registered, there were rumours that Park Leisure 2000 Ltd was up for sale, with a suggested figure of £170m.

Ribble Valley residents face longer wait over caravan row as Park Leisure Group 'to sell for £170m'

Midlothian Capital Partners (MCP), which owned the group, was reportedly exploring the sale of the luxury holiday-home and park operator as a result of the huge rise in domestic holidaymaking during the pandemic.

And in December MCP engaged bankers to begin marketing the company, which operates 11 sites across the UK, including in the Ribble Valley, for sale.

It has now been confirmed that Park Leisure has been sold for £182million to an American real estate investment trust, giving the company its second British deal in only four months.

Lancashire Telegraph:

A spokesperson for MCP said: "Midlothian Capital Partners and a consortium of investors agreed the sale of Park Leisure 2000 Limited to Sun Communities, Inc for £182million.

"Founded in 1998, Park Leisure operates 11 award-winning 5-star parks all located in coastal areas or areas of outstanding natural beauty across the UK.

"It has a strong portfolio of high quality and well-maintained owner-led parks with approximately 2,900 pitches across the portfolio."

Having acquired the Company in 2017, MCP have overseen a period of operational enhancements as well as exceptional growth with EBITDA having more than doubled during their tenure.

The transaction follows Sun’s acquisition of Park Holidays which was announced in November 2021.

Andrew Bracey of MCP and Chairman of Park Leisure, said: “Park Leisure is a great business.

"We invested significant time and resources to help grow and develop the company over the past five years.

"We are delighted to hand stewardship to Sun and Park Holidays - we are confident they will support the company in its next phase of growth.

"We wish the business and new owners every success as they embark on the next exciting chapter for Park Leisure.”

Lancashire Telegraph:

Richard Bates, CEO of Park Leisure, said: “We are delighted with the sale to Sun Communities.

"As one of the leading holiday operators in the UK we are excited by the opportunity to grow our holiday park footprint even further, continue to enhance our customer experience and to be able to offer more park landscapes and facilities.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals as well as completion of Sun’s acquisition of Park Holidays and is expected to close later in 2022.