National business law firm DWF has advised the management team of Park Holidays UK, the fourth largest operator of caravan holiday parks in the UK, on its £172 million sale to and investment by Caledonia Investments plc from private equity firm Graphite Capital.

The transaction values the business at £172 million, which has been funded by £88 million of equity from Caledonia and £90 million of bank debt. RBS, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Barclays Bank and Santander have provided the acquisition debt facilities. In addition, a £10 million acquisition and capital expenditure facility has been arranged to assist the future expansion of the business.

Park Holidays has been run by its current management team since January 2006, when the business was acquired from its founders through a management buy-in backed by Graphite Capital. The change of ownership will enable Park Holidays UK to strengthen its business through internal investment and will allow the company to grow its portfolio of parks through selective acquisition throughout the UK.

Advising Park Holidays UK on the deal, corporate partner Mark Gibson commented: “The new capital structure from Caledonia Investments will enable Park Holidays to develop its existing parks throughout the South of England and build the business through targeted acquisitions.”

Jeff Sills, CEO of Park Holidays UK, also commented: “As a business we have excellent growth prospects and Caledonia’s investment will ensure that we continue to enhance and expand our park portfolio. We are looking forward to working with the team at Caledonia and are grateful for the support from DWF in completing this deal.”