Clearwater has advised a family office, active in the leisure market, on its investment in Les Vacances Camping Paradis (Camping Paradis), one of the leading French players in the outdoor accommodation market, alongside MBO & Co, a leading investor in high-potential mid-cap companies.
Founded in 2019 and thanks to its management team led by Olivier Lachenaud, Frédérick Gers and Didier Bourgoin, entrepreneurs with long and successful experiences in the outdoor accommodation industry, Camping Paradis has become the third largest group of campsites in France. Driven mainly by the growth of franchised and managed campsites, with almost 110 at the beginning of 2023, the group generated €28m in revenues in 2022, with their franchised campsites reaching €100m turnover in 2023.
Camping Paradis has developed a unique range of services and strong operational expertise for medium-sized campsites of 150 to 250 pitches, a highly fragmented segment. Its reputation brings visibility and differentiation to independent campsites, as well as a complete range of services, including digitalisation, marketing, yield management, employee training, and environmental and social approaches, with high value added for member campsites.
The group offers a variety of complementary activities. This includes franchises under the "Les Vacances Camping Paradis" brand, with over 90 member campsites by the end of 2022; directly managed campsites for municipalities and private owners, with more than 20 campsites under management of “Alpha Camping”; an online distribution platform under the "MisterCamp" brand, and the training program "Camping Paradis Academy".
This transaction will accelerate the development of the group's historical activities through an active buy-and-build strategy. In addition to their financial support, the two investors will accompany Camping Paradis in its new growth phase by providing their expertise in external growth strategy, the structuration of fast-growing organisations, and the formalisation of an ambitious ESG roadmap.
