Revived Waterside Cornwall resort is sold to Park Holidays with local jobs saved
The joint administrators and liquidators of the various companies which owned the Waterside resort, Clare Lloyd, Finbarr O’Connell and Colin Hardman of Smith & Williamson LLP and Lane Bednash of CMB Partners UK Ltd, are delighted to announce the completion of a successful sale of this holiday village close to Bodmin, Cornwall.
The transaction will be of benefit to the creditors of London Capital & Finance plc which held significant investments in the scheme.
The sale of Waterside resort follows the implementation of a business plan by the Administrators following their appointment in March 2020 in order to stabilise and restructure trading at the property, turning it from a loss-making operation into profitability. This included operating throughout the very challenging period of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The sale of the business as a going concern to leading UK holiday park owner/operator, Park Holidays, with the preservation of all existing employment at the Waterside resort, is a great outcome both for the local area and as regards to ongoing investment in the UK leisure and tourism industry. It follows a wide-ranging marketing campaign conducted by Miller Commercial and Fraser Real Estate on behalf of the Administrators in the last quarter of 2021 which led to very strong levels of interest and competitive bidding.
Clare Lloyd, who led this restructuring assignment, commented: “The restructuring teams at Smith & Williamson and CMB Partners are very happy to have brought about this hugely positive outcome for what was a struggling operation which had previously suffered from lack of investment. This is a great opportunity for the Waterside Resort to fulfil its potential under the new dynamic ownership of Park Holidays as a thriving holiday resort in a beautiful location.”
Lane Bednash commented: “The fact that the resort is arranged as 70 self-contained holiday lodges meant that we could create a viable trading strategy even during the darkest days of the pandemic. Restructuring specialists always have to adapt their approach to business rescues appropriately in the face of whatever financial or structural problems they encounter.”
Finbarr O’Connell further commented: “The Waterside resort was one of the few substantial assets which the failed London Capital & Finance plc invested in using the monies subscribed by investors into its minibonds. This has been a highly complicated restructuring and I am delighted with the outcome which has been achieved for the benefit of those parties holding security or having creditor claims against the relevant entities.”
