Center Parcs continues search for fifth site

UK holiday parks operator, Center Parcs, has confirmed it will list on the London Stock Exchange main market by next summer.

Reporting its first results since its December 2003 IPO on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), the company also said its search for a fifth site is “proceeding unabated”.

Martin Dalby, chief executive, said: “The leisure market in the UK continues to grow and Center Parcs’ unique model and strong brand ideally position us to consolidate and broaden our position in the domestic leisure market.”

The company announced a pre-tax profit of £0.1m for the 19-week period since its listing date – a period which is seasonally the weakest of the year.

Company turnover for the 53-week period until 22 April was £227.7m, while full-year, pre-tax profits came in at £24.4m. Occupancy for the four sites was over 90 per cent.

Center Parcs operates four holiday resorts in the UK which receive around 1.2 million visitors every year – 99 per cent of whom are British – while families account for 75 per cent of guests. Details: www.centerparcs.co.uk