Blair’s Holiday Parks Secures Investment to Herald New Era

A leading Northern Ireland holiday park business is to expand significantly following investment from private equity firm Melior Equity Partners. Blair’s Holiday Parks (“Blair’s”) employs over 80 people in peak season and operates three parks in Portrush including Hilltop, Craigahulliar and Blair’s and Castlewood on the eastern shores of Lough Neagh.

Blair’s has been a key component of the Northern Ireland family holiday and caravan accommodation sector since 1978 when Tom Blair, uncle of the current co-owner and managing director Colin Mayrs, first established the business.

Colin Mayrs will retain an equity stake in the business and will continue as Managing Director for an interim period while the senior leadership team will remain in their roles to oversee an ambitious expansion plan which will include the acquisition of new sites across Northern Ireland.

A new Chairman, Tim Gibson, former Managing Director of Haven, one of the UK’s largest holiday park businesses, and former Executive Director of Away Resorts, a private equity backed, rapid growth holiday park business, will collaborate closely with Colin to lead the business through the next phase of its growth journey.

Colin who co-owns the business with his cousin Kathryn Brown says the future of Blair’s is now secure.

“The future for Blair’s is not only secure, but very exciting now. I have built the business over 20 years, and now feel it’s the right time for new investors to take the reins. My management team and I are completely confident in Melior Equity Partners’ ability and capacity to take the business forward, expand it, create new jobs and keep the quality of experience for our customers as strong as we have always wanted it to be,” says Mr. Mayrs. “Blair’s is a central contributor to the local economy, and I am delighted that our business will not only continue in safe hands but grow and become even better.”

Peter Garvey and Esmond Greene who led the investment on behalf of Melior Equity Partners said Blair’s is a market leader in the North Coast with a near 50-year heritage which is widely respected as the result of its highly dedicated management team.

“We are very familiar with the company having spent over 18 months in discussions with Colin. Blair’s has an excellent team who create a wonderful environment for our loyal customer base.  We are very excited by the fact that we will have the full support of Colin and his leadership team as we introduce additional talent, including our new Chairman, Tim Gibson, to drive the business to the next level” says Mr. Garvey.

“Blair’s is an exceptional business, having started out with only 300 pitches in the 1970s to more than 1,150 today. We think there is an opportunity to leverage the company’s best-in-class customer proposition and double the size of the business in the next five years,” says Mr. Greene.

Tim Gibson, the incoming Chairman, praised the way the business has evolved to date.

“I am very excited to be joining the Blair’s business as it enters its next phase of growth. Colin and his team have built something special through an innovative and entrepreneurial approach and a dedication to fantastic customer experiences. I look forward to leveraging my experience in the sector, in both privately owned and private equity backed businesses, to work with the team and Melior to take the business to the next level,” says Mr. Gibson.

Colin Mayrs joined his uncle Tom in 2004 to run and grow the business following a career as a mechanical engineer. He says it’s sad that Tom Blair who passed away last year is not around to see this exciting new chapter opening for Blair’s. “Tom was the one who saw the opportunity to develop a high-quality holiday park business in Portrush all those years ago, and I am very proud to have built on his legacy and hopefully positioned the business for a bright future.”

Transaction Advisers:

Melior was advised by Tughans, Grant Thornton, Burness Paul and KPMG, while Blair’s was advised by HNH, Turley’s and McKees.