Ten companies have come forward to make firm offers for holiday chain Pontin’s, it was announced today (Wednesday, January 5th) amid fresh hopes for the future of the park at Brean.
Administrators KPMG said that the majority of bidders are interested in keeping Pontin’s going, despite national press reports last month that property bidders were considering bulldozing the holiday parks and replacing them with housing developments.
KPMG is increasingly confident that a sale can be completed in the coming weeks after Pontin’s called in the administrators in November with debts of more than £40m.
Rob Croxen, joint administrator of Pontin’s and restructuring director at KPMG, said in a statement: “All employees, customers, suppliers and the various stakeholders involved in Pontin’s have rallied throughout the administration process. Clearly, this is a tough time for all concerned, but the level of support really reflects the goodwill the brand has earned over its long history.”
“We have received a great deal of interest in the business and should be in a position to make an announcement on the sale of the business in the coming weeks.”
KPMG added that all wages for Pontin’s employees have been paid and it also confirmed that pension contributions are up-to-date. However, the administrators said they were unlikely to receive enough money from the sale to pay the £3.6m owed to unsecured creditors.
The holiday firm was launched in 1946 when Fred Pontin opened his first holiday park in Brean.
Hundreds of staff who are employed at the Brean Sands site have been nervously watching the developments in recent weeks.
