Haven Holidays

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Holiday, caravan park and campsite operator

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Haven Leisure Limited

Company type| Private

Traded as

| Haven
Industry| Leisure
Predecessor| British Holidays
Warner Holiday Camps
Ladbroke Holidays
Founded| 1964; 61 years ago (1964)
Headquarters| 1 Park Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 4YL,

United Kingdom

Number of locations

| 41 Caravan Holiday Parks
1 Cottage Resort

Area served

| England, Scotland & Wales

Key people

| Simon Palethorpe (Chief Executive)
Products| Caravan Holiday Parks
Holiday Home Sales
Revenue|  £271.1 million (2013)[1]

Operating income

|  £35.2 million (2013)

Net income

|  £25.6 million (2013)

Number of employees

| 2,802 (2013)
Parent| Bourne Leisure Limited
Website| www.haven.com

Haven Leisure Limited (formally Haven Holidays) is a company operating a chain of holiday parks in the United Kingdom. It operates self-catering static caravan holiday parks with many also including touring and camping facilities. The company operates 38 sites in the UK[2] in predominantly coastal locations.

The company was established in 1964 and bought by the Bourne Leisure Group in 2000. In November 2004 Bourne Leisure merged its existing British Holidays chain into the Haven Holidays brand. Bourne Leisure was sold to the Blackstone Group in January 2021.[3]

## History

[edit]

The current Haven chain is formed from a number of acquisitions by its former brands, including Warner Holiday Camps (now trading as Warner Hotels). By 1992, all the self-catering Warner Camps were under the Haven banner.[4] Even though most Haven Parks were self-catering, full board and half board were available at Caister and Duporth. By 1996, Haven had reached 49 holiday parks under its banner and parks divided into three different categories; All Action Centres, Family Parks and Character Villages.[5] Five parks now offered full and half-board holidays: Caister, (the only All Action Centre to so), Mill Rythe, Harcourt Sands, Lyme Bay and Duporth.[6]

By 2000, the number of Haven Holiday Parks had reached 56; by this time, there were now only three parks that offered just half board holidays: Caister, Hafan Y Mor and Craig Tara.[7] Parks now came under four categories and were defined by four different colours, All Action Parks (Red), Lively Parks (Blue), Leisurely Parks (Yellow) and Relaxing Parks (Green); these colours formed part of the ribbon logo introduced in 1999. Part of the ribbon was then replaced between 2004 and 2007 by the British Holidays logo as Haven and British Holidays began to merge. Each holiday park category would reflect what type of entertainment and activities would take place at park and also reflect the park's size.[8] After deciding to focus more on its gaming operations such as Mecca Bingo, the Rank Group decided to sell its holiday arm. In October 2000, Bourne Leisure purchased part of the Rank Group's UK leisure arm, Rank Leisure, for £700 million, which included Haven and its sister brand Haven Europe (now known as Siblu), Butlins, Warner Hotels and Oasis Forest Holiday Villages, which were sold to Center Parcs.

Haven is known for its entertainment under the slogan of 'Haven Entertains'. There were entertainers at all parks, the number of which depended on the size of the park. Its resident entertainers were known as Havenmates, and were famous for their stripped deckchair design jackets. After the sale of Haven to Bourne Leisure in 2000, the entertainers were renamed Funstars, the same name given to the entertainers at British Holidays camps. Bradley Bear was also introduced to the Tiger Club, and Rory and Bradley's Funtime was introduced. Over recent years, the Entertainment branding has undergone further changes, with the introduction of Haven Theatre Company, when Thornwick Bay opened with a number of larger parks adopting this branding, while other parks retained the Funstar branding. Recently, this has been changed to Entertainment Cast and Animation Hosts. As part of a £110 million investment into leisure facilities, more modern flexible spaces were introduced, with Entertainment Venues becoming Marina Bar and Stages.[9][10][11]

Following the purchase of Haven by Bourne Leisure, Haven decided to restructure both Haven and British Holidays and sold off many of their smaller holiday parks. Twelve of these smaller parks which were subject to a management buyout and went on to form a new holiday company; Park Resorts, while other parks were sold to Parkdean Holidays and Park Holidays UK, with Park Resorts and Parkdean later merging themselves to form Parkdean Resorts. Haven and British Holidays both retained their larger parks and Bourne Leisure began integrating them from 2002 onwards, trading entertainment and facilities between the two brands. Haven adopted much of the standardised branding used by British Holidays for its facilities since 1997; such as FunWorks (main entertainment complexes), ShowBar (live entertainment clubs) SplashZone (indoor and outdoor pools) and FoodWorks (fast food outlets), with some of this branding still used at some parks.[12] The two companies eventually merged in November 2004 under the name 'Haven and British Holidays'. Due to Haven being the better known name, the British Holidays identity was eventually dropped completely by the end of the 2007 season.[citation needed] Callow Top Holiday Park in Ashbourne, Buxton, closed at the end of 2004 season; demolished and cleared, subject to a management buyout, and went on to form Pontins, which will be operating soon in October 3rd, 2025.

## Acquisitions

[edit]

In 2007, Bourne Leisure purchased Far Grange Park & Golf Club. The park was initially a Haven site for both holidaymakers and caravan owners, as seen in the 2008 brochure, however after just one season, the park became Owners Only.[citation needed]

In April 2015, Bourne Leisure purchased the Thornwick & Sea Farm Holiday Centre and Greenacre West caravan parks from Flamborough Holidays Ltd;[13] Thornwick & Sea Farm holiday centre's complex was redeveloped for the 2016 season and was rebranded 'Thornwick Bay'.

In 2019, Haven ventured into a new type of resort with the purchase of Celtic Haven Spa Holiday Cottage Resort in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The Resort has 30 onsite self-catering cottages, an Elemis Spa, an indoor swimming pool with entertainment and marine facilities shared with its sister park, Lydstep Beach Holiday Village. Both resorts are situated in the village of Lydstep and Celtic Haven resort is the first in the Haven brand to operate 365 days a year.[14]

It was announced on 23 February 2022 that Haven had completed the acquisition of its first park since being taken over by Blackstone; a previously family-run site in Skegness named Richmond Holiday Centre, which, since the 2023 season, has been renamed Skegness Holiday Park. The park offers more than 700 pitches of accommodation, a swimming pool and entertainment venues and restaurants, and is located not far from Skegness Beach. It is also Haven's first Holiday Park in Skegness since owning Coastfield.[15][16]

On 13 March 2024, it was announced that Haven had purchased Holivans Caravan Park in Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire. The park is situated next door to current Haven park Golden Sands and will form part of the park's expansion. Once both parks are joined together, they will form one of the biggest holiday parks in the region. The acquisition forms part of Haven's growth strategy, reflecting the company's confidence in the UK's domestic tourism market. Development work started on the park in Winter 2024 and will complement the £10 million already invested into the park.[17]

## Brands at Haven

[edit]

Haven have teamed up with several food and drink brands at many of their holiday parks,[18] including:

* Burger King
* Papa John's
* Chopstix
* Millie's Cookies
* Costa Coffee
* Slim Chickens
* JD Wetherspoon (now at Primrose Valley, Devon Cliffs, Cleethorpes Beach, Kent Coast and Haggerston Castle)
* Cooks Fish and Chips

## Sponsorships and partnerships

[edit]

In March 2018, Haven partnered with the charity Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).[19]

In February 2019, Haven became an official sponsor of Team GB, supporting the team in the build up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.[20]

## Mascots

[edit]

Haven currently has six mascots under the name “Seaside Squad” aimed to entertain younger guests. These mascots are known as Rory, Annie, George, Jaz, DJ Ned and Polly.[21]

The mascots take part in shows in the entertainment venues during the day and the evening. The Seaside Squad also participate in meet and greets with guests at other times during the day such as at Breakfast in the site restaurants and photo opportunities in the entertainment venues.[22]

The first mascot of the Haven brand was Rory the Tiger, first introduced in 1988. Before the merger with British Holidays, the Tiger Club characters underwent a complete redesign to co-inside with the Haven rebrand, giving the characters a more cartoonish look. Bradley Bear was created by Tommy Dee, and introduced in 1993 as the mascot of British Holidays; Haven Holidays' former sister brand. As the two brands merged when acquired by Bourne Leisure in 2000, the two mascots began to appear alongside each other, despite Bradley Bear not being a part of the 'Tiger Club' brand.[citation needed]

Other characters starring alongside Rory and Bradley were Greedy the Gorilla, Anxious the Elephant, Sylvester the Snake and Manic the Parrot on Rory's side, and Polly, Naughty Ned and Magical Merlin the Wizard on Bradley's side. By the end of the 2009 season, however, Haven retired the characters of Merlin, Sylvester and Manic; it was explained by Haven that Merlin had whisked himself, Sylvester and Manic away to a magical place, and that they were unable to transport themselves back.

In 2007, the characters had a group alias for the first time namely the 'Zoo Troop'; all had new costumes by this time, and in 2010 Naughty Ned was renamed DJ Ned. However, the previous brand would continue to be used alongside the 'Zoo Troop' brand until the end of the 2012 season when Haven rebranded their characters for 2013, choosing to ditch the jungle setting in favour of a Seaside setting. This resulted in a rename to the 'Seaside Squad' and Polly becoming a Lifeguard to fit in with the new Seaside themed brand. The characters once again received new costumes.

In August 2022, Haven announced that the 'Seaside Squad' would be rebranded for the next season, with the characters performing their first show beginning from 1 October 2022 – Rory remained, however, he was redesigned, Anxious is now called Annie (her real name) and was also redesigned, Greedy is now known as George (his real name) and received the biggest redesign in which his fur was recoloured blue, and Bradley Bear was replaced by his niece, Jaz.[23] In a letter on the Haven website, it was further explained that Bradley Bear was moving to Florida.[24][25] Their real ages have also been revealed: Rory is 14, Jaz is 13, Annie is 12 and George is 11. They have also been given new voices. Two of the four voice actors are unknown, but Annie has a Yorkshire accent instead of her original American accent, Jaz has a Midlands accent, Rory has a Cockney accent instead of his original American accent, and George still has a Scottish accent, but is voiced by a different actor, namely Aaron Spendelow.[26] The character of Annie is voiced by singer and impressionist Jess Robinson. Many regular holidaymakers felt that this was too much of a change in one go. A petition to keep the characters the same has gathered over 3,500 signatures and is still active today.[27][28][29]

The new Squad also sport new costumes. They each have a casual outfit and a superhero outfit. Rory's casual outfit is a Hawaiian-style button-up shirt, green shorts and white trainers, Annie wears a hot pink dress with blue polka dots and a hot pink bow in her hair, alongside matching blue boots each adorned with a hot pink bow. Jaz's casual outfit is a pair of yellow dungarees, a blue checkered shirt, white glasses, an orange headband and a pair of orange boots and George's casual outfit is a white t-shirt covered with multiple colours of paint splattered on, a pair of orange shorts and yellow/blue mix trainers. Their Superhero outfits are each similar with slight changes relating to what colour belts they wear and what type of sleeves they have, alongside differences in the lower half of the outfit.

### Current mascots

[edit]

* Rory the Tiger (1988–present) (voiced by Mark Lewis Jones)
* George the Gorilla (1991–present) (formerly known as Greedy the Gorilla until 2022) (voiced by David Holt, Aaron Spendelow[26])
* Annie the Elephant (1991–present) (formerly known as Anxious the Elephant until 2022) (voiced by Debra-Andrew Oliver, Maria Darling, Jess Robinson)
* Jaz Bear (2022–present)
* DJ Ned PenDragon (2000–present) (formerly known as Naughty Ned until 2010) (voiced by Mark Lewis Jones)
* Polly Popkins (1998–present) (voiced by Debra-Andrew Oliver, Maria Darling, Camilla Rockley[30])

### Former mascots

[edit]

* Bradley Bear (1993–2022) (voiced by Marc Silk[31])
* Sylvester the Snake (1990–2009)
* Manic the Parrot (1990–2009)
* Magical Merlin the Wizard (2001–2009) (Originally British Holidays)
* Prudence the Giraffe (1991–2004)
* Sailor Sue (1998–2000) (Originally British Holidays)
* Tommy the Soldier (1998–2000) (Originally British Holidays)
* Rooster the Hillbilly (2000–2002) (Originally British Holidays)

## Holiday parks and resorts

[edit]

There are currently 38 Haven parks in the United Kingdom.[2]

The number of Haven parks peaked at 56 in 1999, not long before their merger with British Holidays in 2002; however, many of the smaller parks were sold off throughout 2001 and again in October 2004 in a move that Haven said was to improve the standards of the larger and more profitable parks.

### Current Haven parks

[edit]

* Blackpool: Cala Gran, Marton Mere
* Cornwall: Perran Sands, Riviere Sands
* Devon: Devon Cliffs
* Dorset: Littlesea, Rockley Park, Seaview, Weymouth Bay
* Essex: The Orchards
* Kent and Sussex: Kent Coast (formerly Allhallows),[32] Church Farm, Combe Haven
* Lake District: Lakeland
* Lincolnshire: Golden Sands, Cleethorpes Beach (formerly Thorpe Park[33]), Skegness Holiday Park (2023)[34]
* Norfolk: Caister-on-Sea, Hopton, Seashore, Wild Duck
* Northumberland: Berwick, Haggerston Castle
* Scotland: Craig Tara, Seton Sands
* Somerset: Burnham-on-Sea, Doniford Bay
* Wales: Greenacres, Cardigan View (a sister park to Greenacres), Garreg Wen (a sister park to Greenacres), Hafan y Môr, Lydstep Beach, Celtic Haven (a sister park to Lydstep Beach), Kiln Park, Penally Court (a sister park to Kiln Park), Presthaven, Quay West
* Yorkshire: Blue Dolphin, Primrose Valley, Reighton Sands, Thornwick Bay, Far Grange (owners only)

### Parks owned by British Holidays before 2004

[edit]

* Blackpool: Cala Gran, Marton Mere
* Dorset: Rockley Park
* Essex: The Orchards
* Kent and Sussex: Kent Coast (formerly Allhallows), Church Farm
* Lake District: Lakeland
* Lincolnshire: Cleethorpes Beach (formerly Thorpe Park)
* Norfolk: Hopton
* Northumberland: Berwick, Haggerston Castle
* Scotland: Seton Sands
* Somerset: Burnham-on-Sea
* Wales: Greenacres, Lydstep Beach, Kiln Park, Penally Court, Quay West

### Former and closed holiday parks (both Haven and British Holidays)

[edit]

* Buxton: Callow Top (closed at the end of 2004 season); demolished and cleared, now a Pontins site from October 3rd, 2025.
* Cornwall: Duporth, St. Minver, Trelawne Manor, St Ives, Mullion
* Devon: Bideford Bay, Challaborough Bay, Lyme Bay, South Bay, Torquay, Devon Valley
* Dorset: Chesil Beach, Sandhills, Warmwell, West Bay
* Essex: St. Osyth Beach (formerly Bel Air), Steeple Bay
* Hampshire: Mill Rythe, Solent Breezes
* Isle of Wight: Harcourt Sands, Lower Hyde, Nodes Point, Thorness Bay, Fort Warden
* Kent and Sussex: Alberta, Sheerness, Ashcroft, Winchelsea Sands
* Lancashire: Beacon Fell View
* Lincolnshire: Coastfield
* Norfolk: California Cliffs, Heacham Beach, Cherry Tree
* Northumberland: Riverside
* Scotland: Wemyss Bay, Erigmore House, Sundrum Castle, Grannies Heilan Hame, Tummel Valley, Nairn Lochloy
* Suffolk: Felixstowe Beach, Suffolk Sands, Kessingland Beach
* Wales: Brynowen, Carmarathen Bay, Manorbier, Pendine Sands, Tŷ Mawr, Lido Beach
* Yorkshire: Barmston Beach, Cayton Bay, Whitby

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Haven Leisure Ltd, Report and Financial Statements, 31 December 2010
2. ^ a b "38 UK Holiday Parks | Family Holiday Parks in UK". Haven. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
3. ^ "HavenHolidays.com – Review – We want Rory!!!!". Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2006.
4. ^ "Pages 2 & 3 - More Choice More Value, More Family Fun in 1992".
5. ^ "Pages 4&5 Which Park?".
6. ^ "Pages 28&29 Half and Full Board".
7. ^ "Pages 18 & 19 Half Board Holidays - Dinner, Bed & Breakfast". 12 October 2018.
8. ^ Power, Ben (28 September 2000). "Rank says goodbye to redcoats in £700m sale". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
9. ^ "Entertainment". Haven. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
10. ^ "**2024 External Candidate Registration*". Archived from the original on 6 August 2024.
11. ^ "Pages 18&19 Haven Entertains". 24 January 2019.
12. ^ "2003 Haven Brochure (2nd Edition)".
13. ^ "Holiday parks in national deal". Bridlington Free Press. Retrieved 1 November 2015.[permanent dead link]
14. ^ "Holiday giant buys Pembrokeshire cottage resort". www.westerntelegraph.co.uk. 19 August 2019.
15. ^ "Major east coast holiday park bought by Haven". 23 February 2022.
16. ^ "Pages 78 & 79 Coastfield". Retrieved 9 May 2025.
17. ^ "Haven Expands Golden Sands Holiday Park with Holivans Acquisition - Modern Campground".
18. ^ "Food & Drink". Haven. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
19. ^ "Haven Holidays partners with the RNLI to save lives at sea". rnli.org. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
20. ^ "Team GB announce partnership with Haven". sponsorship.org. European Sponsorship Association. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
21. ^ "Meet the NEW Seaside Squad". Haven. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
22. ^ "Meet and greets: be among the first to meet the new Seaside Squad | Haven". Haven. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
23. ^ "Meet the NEW Seaside Squad". Haven. Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
24. ^ ""While I'm away, remember to always help keep our beaches clean"" (PDF). Haven. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
25. ^ "Letters from the new Seaside Squad". Haven. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
26. ^ a b "Aaron Spendelow on Twitter: "Introducing the brand new Seaside Squad at @haven and playing the voice of George!"". Twitter. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
27. ^ "Haven Holidays announces changes to its characters - and parents are angry". Wales Online. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
28. ^ "Haven holiday fans blast mascot character "glow up"". Great Yarmouth Mercury. 5 September 202. Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
29. ^ "Keep the Haven characters the same". Change.org. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
30. ^ "Camilla Rockley Extended Voice Reel". YouTube. 1 July 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
31. ^ "The Many Character Voices of Marc Silk". YouTube. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
32. ^ "Kent Coast Holiday Park in Rochester, Kent". Haven. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
33. ^ "Cleethorpes Beach Holiday Park, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire". Haven. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
34. ^ "Skegness Holiday Park, Skegness, Lincolnshire". Haven. Retrieved 21 September 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Haven Holidays Official Website
* Celtic Haven Website

* v
* t
* e

Blackstone

Founders|

* Peter G. Peterson
* Stephen A. Schwarzman

Notable executives|

| Current|

* Joseph Baratta
* David Blitzer
* Jonathan D. Gray

|

Former|

* Roger Altman
* Larry Fink
* Hamilton E. James
* David Stockman
* John J. Studzinski
* Laurence Tosi

Subsidiaries|

| Current|

* BREIT

|

Former|

* Blackrock
* GSO Capital Partners
* PJT Partners

Investment holdings|

| Business services|

* CMS Computers
* RGIS
* SunGard (minority shareholder)

|

Consumer/retail|

* The Michaels Companies (Joint control)
* Pinnacle Foods
* United Biscuits

IT services|

* Mphasis (56.12%)

Financial services|

* BankUnited (minority stake)
* Corebridge Financial (minority stake)
* HealthMarkets (minority stake)
* FGIC (minority stake)
* Refinitiv (minority stake)

Healthcare|

* Biomet
* Emcure Pharmaceuticals (investment)
* Vanguard Health Systems

Industrial|

* Freescale (Joint Control)
* Klöckner Pentaplast
* TRW Automotive (Control)
* Essel Propack

Media/telecom|

* MNRK Music Group
* Dualtone Records
* Last Gang Records
* Light Records
* SESAC
* eAccess (investment)
* Nielsen Holdings (minority stake)
* Axtel (minority stake)
* Deutsche Telekom (minority stake)
* TDC Group (minority stake)
* The Weather Channel (minority stake)
* International Data Group

Travel & leisure|

* AGS Airports (22%)
* Bourne Leisure
* Casual Dining Group
* Center Parcs Europe (freehold)
* Center Parcs UK and Ireland
* Caesars Entertainment Corporation (former)
* Crown Resorts
* Great Wolf Resorts
* Hilton Worldwide (former)
* Merlin Entertainments (minority stake)
* SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (former)
* Travelport
* Village Hotel Club

Real estate|

* Extended Stay America (minority stake)
* EQ Office
* La Quinta Inns & Suites
* Top Ryde City

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