History
Fred Pontin opened the first holiday camp in 1946 on the site of a former US World War II army base at Brean Sands in Somerset, gradually expanding his empire to 30 sites at one point.
In 1978 the company was sold to Coral in a UK£56 million deal. In 1980, Coral (including Pontins) was taken over by Bass Brewing who later disposed of the Pontinental side of the business. In 1987, Pontins was sold to a management buyout team led by Trevor Hemmings, whose construction firm had originally built the holiday centre at Southport. It was sold yet again in 1989, this time to Scottish & Newcastle. Over the next ten years the company closed or sold a number of sites. In a three-year programme in the mid-1990s, the remaining camps were modernised. In 2000 the company, which now owned only eight camps, was sold back to Hemmings. In 2008, the company was sold to Ocean Parcs for £46million. Wall Park holiday centre was not included in the sale, and, in January 2009, Pontin's announced the closure of its Hemsby holiday centre. Pontin's Blackpool in Squires Gate closed in October 2009 leaving five parks still trading under the Pontin's brand.
Pontins headquarters were relocated to the Southport Holiday Park, which is located on the coast at Ainsdale-on-Sea, close to the village of Ainsdale. From the original Hemmings buy-out until then the headquarters were located at Sagar House in the village of Eccleston, Lancashire, but the Southport Holiday Centre had always had provision for the establishment of emergency offices as part of Pontins' disaster recovery planning.
In September 2009, Pontins announced plans for a five-year multi-million investment plan for the remaining five parks. Refurbishment work completed in 2010 included a new half board restaurant and real ice skating rink at the Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park, along with a new roller skating rink at the Brean Sands Holiday Park.
In November 2010, Pontins announced they had gone into administration. No jobs were lost and customers were still able to go on holiday. A spokesman from the chairman of Pontins said that the company would continue to trade during this time and that it would be getting help to move the company out of administration.
On 28 January 2011 KPMG announced that Britannia Hotels Group was now the new owner of Pontins Holidays. Alex Langsam, owner of Britannia Hotels, has since announced a £25 million investment programme, with the intention of refocusing Pontins as themed seaside destinations, taking inspiration from Disney theme parks.
In September 2011, the Southport Camp provided accommodation for students at Edge Hill University.
In 2012, a fire broke out at the Brean site in the early hours of 2 January, causing damage to 8 chalets. 5 people were treated for smoke inhalation.
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