| Type | Private Limited Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Holiday / Leisure |
| Founded | 1946 (as Pontin's) 2011 (as Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd) |
| Founder(s) | Fred Pontin (original company) |
| Headquarters | St Helier, Jersey, CI (registered office) Ainsdale, Merseyside (trading office) |
| Number of locations | 5 holiday parks in UK |
| Key people | Alex Langsam |
| Products | Family holiday parks |
| Employees | 1,049 |
| Website | www.pontins.com |
Pontins is a British holiday business which was originally founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. It specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays with regular entertainment on offer. Accommodation is usually in the form of chalets. The company once grew to be a major operator of seaside holiday accommodation, but has now shrunk considerably. Their slogan was "All your want-ins at Pontins".
On 12 November 2010, Pontin's Limited entered administration[1] but was bought in January 2011 by Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd, a Jersey-based investment vehicle with links to the Britannia Hotels Ltd group.[2]
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Fred Pontin opened the first holiday camp in 1946 on the site of a former US World War II army base, gradually expanding his empire to 30 sites at one point.[3]
In 1978 the company was sold to Coral in a UK£56 million deal. In 1980, Coral (including Pontins) was taken over by Bass Brewing who later disposed of the Pontinental side of the business. In 1987, Pontins was sold to a management buyout team led by Trevor Hemmings, whose construction firm had originally built the holiday centre at Southport. It was sold yet again in 1989, this time to Scottish & Newcastle. Over the next ten years the company closed or sold a number of sites. In a three-year programme in the mid-1990s, the remaining camps were modernised. In 2000 the company, which now owned only eight camps, was sold back to Hemmings. In 2008, the company was sold to Ocean Parcs for £46million.[4] Wall Park holiday centre was not included in the sale, and, in January 2009, Pontin's announced the closure of its Hemsby holiday centre.[5] Pontin's Blackpool in Squires Gate closed in October 2009[6] leaving five parks still trading under the Pontin's brand.
Pontins headquarters were relocated to the Southport Holiday Park, which is located on the coast at Ainsdale-on-Sea, close to the village of Ainsdale. From the original Hemmings buy-out until then the headquarters were located at Sagar House in the village of Eccleston, Lancashire, but the Southport Holiday Centre had always had provision for the establishment of emergency offices as part of Pontins' disaster recovery planning.
In September 2009, Pontins announced plans for a five-year multi-million investment plan for the remaining five parks.[7] Refurbishment work completed in 2010 included a new half board restaurant and real ice skating rink at the Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park, along with a new roller skating rink at the Brean Sands Holiday Park.
In November 2010, Pontins announced they had gone into administration. No jobs were lost and customers were still able to go on holiday. A spokesman from the chairman of Pontins said that the company would continue to trade during this time and that it would be getting help to move the company out of administration.[8]
On 28 January 2011 KPMG announced that Britannia Hotels Group was now the new owner of Pontins Holidays.[2] Alex Langsam, owner of Britannia Hotels, has since announced a £25 million investment programme, with the intention of refocusing Pontins as themed seaside destinations, taking inspiration from Disney theme parks.[3]
The subsequent report[9] by the administrators at KPMG reveals that Alex Langsam's vehicle, Britannia Jinky Jersey Limited, had made the highest of 14 bids for the Pontin's business, amounting to £18.5m. This consisted of £14.5m for the five holiday parks, plus a further £4m for intellectual property and assets, including £2.4m for the trading name Pontin's. The largest of the creditors to lose out was Santander bank with a residual deficit of £27m. The total deficiency to all creditors was expected to be around £40m.
In September 2011, the Southport Camp provided accommodation for students at Edge Hill University.[10]
Pontins currently owns and operates five resorts (known as "parks") in the United Kingdom.
These are a list of former Pontins resorts in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland that have either closed or been sold off.
Bluecoats are, like their redcoat counterparts at the Pontin's competitor Butlins, both guest hosts and often entertainers: