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| Pontin's to create 2,000 new jobs | Pontin's to create 2,000 new jobs |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Holiday camp company Pontin's has said it will invest £50m in redeveloping its holiday centres, creating 2,000 new jobs in the process. | Holiday camp company Pontin's has said it will invest £50m in redeveloping its holiday centres, creating 2,000 new jobs in the process. |
| Ocean Parcs, which owns Pontin's, said bookings for half term, Easter and Summer 2009 were "significantly up". | Ocean Parcs, which owns Pontin's, said bookings for half term, Easter and Summer 2009 were "significantly up". |
| Pontin's, famous for its Bluecoats entertainers, currently operates six centres in the UK. The investment will be used to refurbish or rebuild them. | Pontin's, famous for its Bluecoats entertainers, currently operates six centres in the UK. The investment will be used to refurbish or rebuild them. |
| The Pakefield Holiday Centre in Suffolk will double in size and capacity. | The Pakefield Holiday Centre in Suffolk will double in size and capacity. |
| Part of the investment will also go towards launching a restyled entertainment programme. | Part of the investment will also go towards launching a restyled entertainment programme. |
| Ian Smith, Oceans Parcs chief executive, said: "It is particularly rewarding to be able to announce these plans which will not only generate increased tourism but create over 2,000 new jobs whilst the country is in a recession." | Ian Smith, Oceans Parcs chief executive, said: "It is particularly rewarding to be able to announce these plans which will not only generate increased tourism but create over 2,000 new jobs whilst the country is in a recession." |
| New owners | |
| Executive chairman Graham Parr is a former Pontin's chief executive. Oceans Parc bought Pontin's in March last year for £46m. PONTIN'S HOLIDAY CENTRES Brean Sands, SomersetCamber Sands, SussexPrestatyn Sands, north WalesSouthport, Ainsdale BeachBlackpoolPakefield, Suffolk | |
| Prior to that the company had changed hands a number of times. It was sold to betting company Coral in 1978. Entrepreneur Trevor Hemmings then bought it, sold it to brewer Scottish and Newcastle, before buying it back in 2000. | |
| Pontin's was set up to offer holidaymakers a low-cost break. It provides self-catering and half-board accommodation. | |
| At its peak in the 1960s and 1970s Pontin's had 24 camps, but that number has shrunk as more and more people started holidaying abroad. | |
| 'Fantastic opportunities' | |
| However, according to experts, the current economic climate, and the weak pound, means we are now seeing a reversal of that trend. | |
| "There will be a substantial switch this year from overseas holidays to UK holidays and that is obviously what Pontin's is tapping into," commented Simon Calder, travel editor for the Independent newspaper. | |
| "British tourism this summer has fantastic opportunities," he added. |