Sale of Center Parcs ‘will not hit’ jobs or expansion plans in Longford

The sale of holiday resort firm Center Parcs will not lead to any job losses at its Longford facility or hinder its planned €100 million expansion, The Irish Times understands.

Canadian private equity group Brookfield has put Center Parcs up for sale and is seeking between £4 billion (€4.6 billion) and £5 billion for the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

A sale could potentially net a windfall for Brookfield, which acquired the resort group from Blackstone for about £2.4 billion in 2015. Center Parcs operates five holiday destinations in Britain and one Irish resort in Longford Forest.

Center Parcs said on Tuesday it had no comment to make on a potential sale, but The Irish Times understands there is an expectation there will be no job cuts or changes to the group’s expansion plans in Ireland in the event of a sale.

Bonds are back: but should you invest?

---

CRH puts its hands up over shortcomings on investor dividends

---

Will inheritance cause a problem with my weekly disability payment?

---

High rollers face pension squeeze

---

Center Parcs announced plans to invest a further €100 million in Longford Forest in 2021, which would see it add 198 new lodges, external saunas and pods, a new lakeside restaurant and coffee shop, as well as an extension of existing facilities.

Appeals

However, the plans were put on hold in recent months following a number of appeals to An Bord Pleanála based on concerns around a lack of proper infrastructure in the local area.

It is understood Center Parcs has not informed staff about a potential sale but has made contact to inform them they will be kept updated of any developments.

[ Center Parcs put up for sale and may fetch close to €6bn ]

Speaking on Tuesday, local Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy said staff would welcome clarity from the company on the matter.

“The staff that I’d know – and I’d know quite a few at all levels – what they have said to me is they haven’t been informed of any sale,” he said. “They would always acknowledge that they are a good employer, flexible, and they look after them.

“They would welcome confirmation of what is happening. They are reading the papers, and they would welcome a bit of clarity. But we are not talking about potential job losses here because I would imagine it would be sold as a going concern.”

IT Business Person of the Year Barry Connolly on 'fulfilling' his business goals

Listen | 45:51

The 400 acre woodland resort first opened in July 2019. A tourism survey by Fáilte Ireland at the time ranked Longford bottom of the 26 counties in the Republic with just 26,000 visitors a year. By 2021, Longford Forest had in itself chalked up more than one million visitors.

Ballymahon was connected to the gas network following the arrival of the company, and water mains were replaced and roads to the resort were upgraded. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said at the time it would put “Longford and the midlands on the map”.

The resort employs 1,000 staff, and received more than 8,000 job applications when it opened for business. Since then, it has had average occupancy of 90 per cent during peak periods.

Accounts for Center Parcs Ireland show that it made an after-tax profit of €7.4 million in the year to the end of April 2022.

Fianna Fáil spokesman for community development Joe Flaherty, who is another local TD, said staff were not concerned about a sale at this point.

“With such a large number of people employed there, you would know loads of them,” he said. “I was talking to a couple of them this morning and they are not uneasy about it.”

Brookfield did not respond to questions about the sale. However, Mr Flaherty added it was “not unrealistic this day would come” given the figures that are being quoted. “They would effectively double their money in terms of the original investment,” he said.

[ Center Parcs’ €100m Longford expansion faces objections due to infrastructure concerns ]

“What I would say though is that Center Parcs is a proven and very successful business model that has been immensely good to Co Longford, Ballymahon, and the wider region. It is a fantastic employer, and the town of Ballymahon is quite literally booming.

“We would be very comfortable and confident of the success of the Longford Forest model. Center Parcs would say it is one of their most successful products, and we would have no concerns about the viability of it.

Uncertainty

“When you’re living in rural Ireland, you get used to living with uncertainty, but Center Parcs is a success story with a proven track record in business and I would be confident a new owner will be secured very quickly. It’s a winning formula, and that is reflected in the price tag.”

Longford Chamber president Fiona Fenelon suggested a sale of the group could lead to further expansion in Longford.

[ Center Parcs’ Longford resort hits revenues of €1.1m a week ]

“It is obviously doing extremely well so I wouldn’t be concerned,” she said. “I guess that’s par for the course with these investment companies. Possibly if Covid hadn’t happened they would have flipped it sooner.

“I’m sure whoever is going to buy it is going to take it to another level, so if anything, it could be a positive.

“Ballymahon and the surrounding area – into Longford Town as well – It is a massive boost to the local economy. That number of jobs in the midlands is fantastic. You can see the improvement in the town and the amount of businesses that are flourishing.

“We get a lot of overseas tourists coming here especially for it. So it is good for the wider economy as well, bringing people in through the airports and the ports too.”