Huge holiday park in Northampton SOLD to new owners after 10-months in administration

A huge holiday park in Northampton has been SOLD to new owners.

Billing Aquadrome and Cogenhoe Mill have been sold to a brand new owner following a 10-month search and ‘extensive negotiations’.

The holiday park went into administration on July 6 whilst owned by the Royale Life Group at the time.

Joint administrators Daniel Smith and Oliver Haunch of Grant Thornton LLP subsequently took over the site when it went into administration.

The administrators have today (Wednesday, March 27) confirmed the new buyer to be Meadow Bay Villages.

A Billing Aquadrome spokesman said: “We are pleased to announce that after extensive negotiations, the joint administrators have successfully secured a sale of the park to Meadow Bay Villages. This sale secures the future of the park which has remained a focus and objective of the administration.

“The experienced management team at Meadow Bay Villages are committed to maintaining and developing upon the park’s existing amenities and have exciting plans for further investment for the benefit of licence holders and visitors.

“We wish to express our gratitude to all license holders and on-site team members for their support and patience throughout this process and look forward to Meadow Bay Villages taking the park forward, infusing fresh ideas, and creating memorable experiences for the park community.”

The administrators added: “We are delighted to have achieved such a fantastic outcome which across all of the parks in administration secures over a hundred jobs and protects the future operations of the parks for the benefit of licence holders and visitors. Since the administration commenced, and with the support of the secured lender, the parks have undergone various improvements and the experienced management team at Meadow Bay Villages have exciting plans for the continued investment into the parks.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the on-site teams who have remained resilient during these uncertain times and the Licence Holders for their continued support whilst a sale was secured. We wish everyone the best for the future.”

Geoffrey Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Meadow Bay Villages, said: “We are thrilled with the acquisition of the five resorts to kickstart the Meadow Bay Villages brand.

“The opportunity to engage with team members, owners and holidaymakers and offer a best-in-class experience is something we relish, and we are already thinking about exciting plans for further investment and development at these already great locations.

“We recognise that there has been some uncertainty at the parks in recent months despite their immense appeal with holidaymakers and owners over many decades. With a renewed vision and dedicated leadership, we are confident that we can herald a fresh start for each resort and build on their existing popularity. Delivering value to customers through an engaging and reliable service is at the heart of our proposition and we are certain this will appeal to existing and new holidaymakers.

“Meadow Bay Villages is backed by committed investors and is already building a leadership team that has a blend of expertise and knowledge from across the holiday and residential park sector. We want to grow in the coming months and years but our first step is to bring great success to the five resorts we have newly acquired.”

The park has been in the spotlight for most of this year as thousands of residents were forced to flee the site following severe flooding in the New Year caused by Storm Henk.