THE company which owns Minehead’s Butlin’s holiday resort has been taken over by global investment giant Blackstone in a deal reported to be worth £3 billion, it was confirmed this week.

Funds managed by Blackstone have agreed to acquire Bourne Leisure, the parent company of Haven Holidays, Butlin’s and Warner Leisure Hotels.

The Harris, Cook and Allen families, who founded Bourne Leisure, are co-investing alongside Blackstone and will together hold a significant minority stake in the business.

Bourne Leisure, which took over the Minehead holiday centre in 2000, employs more than 14,000 people in the peak season, hosts 25,000 holiday home owners and attracts 4.5 million guests to 56 sites across the UK every year.

It is the country’s largest leisure firm. Before the pandemic its Butlin’s sites at Minehead, Skegness and Bognor Regis had enjoyed six consecutive years of growth.

Its Haven brand is the largest UK caravan operator with 38 holiday parks and 2.5 million visitors a year, while Warner Leisure Hotels owns 14 country and coastal hotels and properties around the UK.

Blackstone has previously invested in similar leisure businesses including Center Parcs and owns Merlin, the world’s second-largest operator of visitor attractions and theme parks.

Lionel Assant, European head of private equity at Blackstone, said: “We are long-term believers in the UK and are delighted to support the recovery of a Covid-impacted industry, and wider local economies.

“We look forward to working in partnership with Bourne Leisure to further grow this great company.

“Our strong track record investing in the UK leisure sector will allow us to further enhance the company’s unique, high quality assets across the country, and continue building on its success for guests, holiday-home owners and team members over the last 57 years.”

Paul Faum, group chief executive of Bourne Leisure, added: “This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Bourne Leisure, for our guests, our holiday home-owners and our team members.

“We are delighted to be partnering Blackstone who have demonstrated a real understanding of our business and sector, and we look forward to working together to deliver on our exciting plans for the future.

“We are also delighted that our founding families will continue to be involved in the business through their significant family minority co-investment.

“We see compelling opportunities to grow Haven, Butlin’s and Warner Leisure Hotels, as well as benefit from the increasing demand for UK domestic holidays.”