UK pension funds eye stake in £4.5bn holiday giant Center Parcs

Some of Britain's biggest public sector pension schemes are in talks to take a stake in Center Parcs as its Canadian owner finalises a recapitalisation of the holiday parks giant.

Sky News has learnt that bodies including the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF), the London-based Local Pension Partnership (LPPI) and the Edinburgh-based Lothian Pension Scheme are among those which have been in negotiations about buying between 15% and 20% of the company. The GMPF, which is part of the Northern LGPS, is the UK's single-biggest biggest local government pension scheme, with well over £30bn under management and responsibility for the retirement savings of more than 430,000 members.

City sources said this weekend that the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which manages the pensions of university lecturers, had also been involved in the discussions, although it was unclear whether it would be part of the final syndicate of backers. Center Parcs will be valued at approximately £4.5bn as part of the process, which is expected to conclude during the first quarter of 2026.

A deal has not yet been finalised, and some of the pension funds which have been exploring a deal may decide not to participate, according to sources. The Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation, which is already a shareholder in Center Parcs, may invest more capital into the leisure group, according to insiders.

The process, which has been initiated by Center Parcs' Canadian owner, Brookfield Asset Management, would reflect a push by the Treasury to see more of British pension funds' capital invested in UK assets. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, claimed in May that the Mansion House Accord would unlock £50bn from 17 major workplace pension providers to invest in UK-based assets.

Brookfield is expected to remain the majority owner after the Center Parcs refinancing process has been completed. Center Parcs has enjoyed strong trading since the lockdowns triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and boasts one of the British leisure industry's best-known brands.

Its resorts draw millions of visitors annually to its five UK sites and the latest addition to its portfolio, at Longford Forest in Ireland. The company recently won planning permission to build a new £450m site in the Scottish Borders.

Its locations offer a mixture of adventure and leisure activities for families, such as watersports and horse riding, as well as upmarket spa packages which have become an increasing focus for its management. The company opened its first site in the UK in 1987 at Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire.

Center Parcs has been a public company in the past, floating on London's junior AIM market in 2003 before moving to a main market listing two years later. It was then taken over by Blackstone, the private equity firm, in 2006, before being sold to Brookfield in 2015 in a deal reported to have been worth £2.4bn.

Center Parcs' UK and Ireland operations are owned separately to the European business that also trades under the brand. The Center Parcs name dates back to 1968, when the first village opened in The Netherlands.

Run by chief executive Colin McKinlay, Center Parcs' shareholders have received hundreds of millions of pounds in dividends since Brookfield bought the business. It owns resorts in Cumbria, Nottinghamshire, Wiltshire, Suffolk and Bedfordshire, as well as the Longford Forest site in Ballymahon, Ireland.

A previous attempt by Brookfield to sell the company stalled in 2023. Center Parcs' recapitalisation process is being managed by bankers at Bank of America, Barclays and Eastdil.

Brookfield and USS declined to comment, while none of the other pension funds which have held talks about a deal could be reached for comment..