Niche travel group Holidaybreak, best known for its Eurocamp and Superbreak brands, has unveiled plans to raise £31 million from shareholders as it bids to acquire new sites for PGL, its outdoor activities business.PGL, which Holidaybreak bought two years ago for £100m, has 18 centres in the UK, eight in France and one in Spain. It plans to raise the new funds to buy and develop another three or four site in the UK.
Carl Michel, the Holidaybreak chief executive, has disclosed plans to acquire a failed conference centre to the west of London along the M4, for an estaimated £10 million, including development costs.
Other sites include a conference centre to the north of London, a leisure and educational complex in the West Country and a college in the North of England.
The high closure rate of a number of private schools - estimated at one to two every fortnight - has also opened a number of opportunities. Many are housed in large country houses with extensive grounds and some possess sports halls and IT suites.
PGL’s main business is catering to classes of children who are able to combine classwork with outdoor activities, ranging from canoeing and rock climbing to go-karting and archery.
The four-for-nine rights issue, which will raise gross proceeds of £33.2 million, is being priced at 153p a share.
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