Disposal of Park Holidays UK

RNS Number : 7101S

Graphite Enterprise Trust PLC

11 November 2013

 



GRAPHITE ENTERPRISE TRUST PLC

11 November 2013

Graphite Enterprise Trust PLC ("the Company") announces that Graphite Capital Partners VI ("Graphite VI"), in which the Company is an investor, has sold Park Holidays UK, the caravan parks group, for £172 million.

Park Holidays UK was the Company's fifth largest underlying investment at 31 July 2013. The exit price represents a multiple of 2.3 times the original cost and an uplift of 18% to the gross carrying value of the investment at 31 July. Graphite VI is expected to distribute proceeds of approximately £12 million to the Company in the next few weeks. This disposal, in isolation, increases the Company's net asset value per share by 0.4% compared with that at 31 July.

The sale of Park Holidays UK represents the sixth successful exit from Graphite Capital's buy-out funds in twelve months.

Park Holidays UK is Graphite Enterprise's second significant disposal since 31 July, following the agreement to sell Alexander Mann Solutions, which we reported in October. Taken together, these disposals increase the net asset value per share by 8.6p to 690.9p, or by 1.3% compared with that at 31 July, and generate approximately £26 million of cash.

The Company's results for the nine months ended 31 October 2013 will be announced on 4 December 2013.

About Park Holidays UK

Park Holidays UK owns 21 freehold and two leasehold caravan parks with nearly 9,000 pitches in southern England. The group sells caravans to owners and hires caravans to holiday makers. The business was founded in 1985 and was acquired by Graphite VI in a £130 million buy-in/management buy-out in January 2006.

Graphite worked closely with the management team to strengthen the business and supported the acquisition of six new parks in the south west of England. Since the buyout, the quality of the parks has been substantially upgraded and the company has expanded its holiday lettings business across all its parks.

Over seven years, Park Holidays UK's turnover more than doubled to £84 million and EBITDA increased by 72 per cent to £20.4 million.

The purchaser was Caledonia Investments plc, an investment trust.

 

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