US private equity firm KKR has agreed to acquire Roompot Group, a provider of holiday parks in western Europe and the top operator in the Netherlands, from European private equity firm PAI Partners.
Although financial terms were not disclosed, the business was said to be worth around €1 bn.
Founded in 1965 in the Dutch province of Zeeland, Roompot directly owns and operates 33 parks in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. In total Roompot operates more than 150 holiday parks in Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and Spain in its portfolio, from premium resorts to comfortable parks and campsites.
Under PAI’s ownership, Roompot has invested significantly in upgrading and expanding its accommodations and opening new parks, developed a strong digital marketing and distribution platform, increased real estate ownership and grown revenue and EBITDA at double digit growth rates.
The company now welcomes three million guests and 13 million overnight stays each year, generating revenues of almost €400 mln.
KKR will continue to support Roompot’s current management team with its further development into a major pan-European operator, driven by supportive structural trends around domestic tourism. Domestic holidays and staycations are expected to boom in the medium term across Europe, as more and more people look to spend their holidays near home amid travel restrictions and safety concerns.
Jurgen van Cutsem, CEO of Roompot Group, said: ‘We continue to see growing demand from our guests and from our corporate partners due to the leading platform we have put in place, providing a solid foundation to scale the business, also on an international level.’
KKR had been looking for a platform to invest behind in the fragmented European holiday parks market for some time. ‘We see significant further growth potential based on a very strong development pipeline, continued expansion of Roompot's owned assets and new corporate partnerships.
'KKR is investing in Roompot through our Core Investments strategy, which is our pool of capital for longer-term investments, and we look forward to working with Jurgen and his team over the coming years,’ added Daan Knottenbelt, partner and head of the Benelux region at KKR.
