Clearwater advises Palatine on the sale of Verdant Leisure to The William Pears Group

Transaction

Palatine Private Equity on the sale of Verdant Leisure to The William Pears Group

Sell-side

Undisclosed

Role

Adviser to Palatine on the sale of Verdant Leisure to The William Pears Group

Sector

Consumer

Region

United Kingdom

Clearwater has advised Palatine Private Equity (Palatine) on the sale of its stake in Verdant Leisure, the award-winning holiday park operator, to the management team backed by Pears Partnership Capital (Pears). The deal marks an exit for Palatine.

Verdant Leisure is a bespoke holiday park operator offering lodge and caravan holidays and holiday home ownership at stunning sites across Scotland and Northern England.

The sale will see Palatine exit the business with a returns multiple of 3.7x, following a highly successful strategy of acquisitions and value creation which has grown Verdant’s annual turnover by 150% since 2016. Since investing in the business in April 2016, Palatine has supported Verdant to acquire 6 additional sites, increasing its footprint to ten locations and 3,500 pitches, making it a leading operator in the UK.

Management’s value creation focus has increased both holiday home sales and the profitability of Verdant’s holiday let operations by enhancing on-site leisure facilities and investing in central management functions including a new head office and customer service contact centre.

Clearwater are a well-established and highly active adviser in the holiday park sector. The experienced team have advised businesses on the sale, refinancing and acquisition of more than ten transactions.

Clearwater previously advised Palatine on its MBO of Verdant Leisure in 2016.

This exit marks the culmination of a highly successful investment for Palatine, achieving remarkable growth through strategic buy and build opportunities and a driving focus on operational excellence and sustainability. There has been a growing trend towards staycations in the UK holiday market with increased demand for holiday accommodation in premium locations. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the management team to add value to the business and we wish them every success with their future growth plans.
Ed Fazakerley, Partner at Palatine Private Equity

We have enjoyed great support from Palatine over the last five years. The team’s expertise in buy and build and its forward-thinking approach to ESG strategy, has helped us to scale profitably and consolidate our status as an operator of choice at a time of great opportunity in the UK holiday market. The management team now look forward to continuing this growth strategy with the support of our new investors at Pears Partnership Capital.
Graham Hodgson, Chief Executive of Verdant Leisure

We are delighted to have signed this initial investment into the UK caravan park sector. Our commitment to investing for the long term will significantly differentiate us as an owner. We are excited about working with the management team in a market that is full of opportunity.
Mark Crowther, Managing Director of Pears Partnership Capital which acts on behalf of The Pears family in respect of direct private equity investments in operating businesses

It has been a pleasure to work with Palatine and Verdant Leisure on this transaction and for a number of years before this. Verdant is a longstanding client of Clearwater and over the last few years we have seen Verdant grow substantially as management have acquired and then transformed additional parks. With the rise of domestic holidays following the pandemic and an exceptional and ambitious management team, we are confident the business is well-positioned for further growth.
Gareth Iley, Partner, Clearwater