Bourne Leisure plans further moves into spa market

Holiday park operator Bourne Leisure has said it expects to invest around £45m in its properties over the coming year – which could well see the development of spa facilities at some of its sites.

The company, which owns and operates the Haven, British Holidays, Haven Europe, Warner and Butlins brands, opened a £2.5m spa at its flagship Devon Cliffs site earlier this year – including a health suite, sauna, steamroom, relaxation terrace, indoor spa pool and treatment rooms – and is waiting to see how successful it is before developing spa facilities at further sites, but director, Robert Seaton, has said it is a strong possibility they will.

“We probably will go into the spa market, as long as the customers want it,” Seaton told Leisure Management. “In the end, people are coming to us for a rest and we feel spas provide an opportunity to extend our facilities.

“The beauty of having lots of parks is that we can try out new things in one or two, work out what the customers want, then roll it out,” he added.

In the past year, spas have also been added at Warner’s Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire and Butlins in Skegness.

The next major refurbishment project for the group will be at Primrose Valley Holiday Park near Scarborough, where Bourne has received planning permission for a £5-6m scheme to extend existing facilities, add a new clubhouse, refurbish the parks and update community areas. Details: LM September 04, p.34 or call +44 (0)1462 471913 to subscribe.