Sun Communities is selling its UK holiday park assets to Aermont Capital for £768m (€889m), just over four years after entering the market, as the firm shifts its full attention to its core North American manufactured housing (MH) and recreational vehicle (RV) portfolio.
The real estate investment trust said it has agreed to sell its UK assets, which include the Park Holidays business, as part of its plan to focus on the US and Canada while “further enhancing its financial flexibility”.
NYSE-listed Sun Communities completed the acquisition of Park Holidays UK in April 2022 for £950m, gaining access to 40 owned and two managed communities primarily located in seaside locations across the south of England.
At the time, Sun Communities said of its UK market entry: “we intend to use this platform to continue to scale in the UK market, just as we have successfully done in the US”.
Following the sale of the UK business, Charles Young, CEO of Sun Communities, said: “This exciting transaction allows us to focus on and drive growth through our core North American MH and RV platform. We will remain disciplined in our capital allocation approach, which includes investing in our high-quality communities, identifying attractive external MH and RV growth opportunities and returning capital to shareholders.”
Jeff Sills, Park Holiday’s CEO, said: “We are grateful for Sun’s partnership and support over the past several years. Together, we have continued to build and strengthen Park Holidays, and I am incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished. We look forward to the next chapter for the business under Aermont’s ownership and remain excited about the opportunities ahead.”
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