Haven (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[2] sites in the UK 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
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 these were Caister, (the only All Action Centre to so), Mill Rythe, Harcourt Sands, Lyme Bay and Duporth. [6]
By the year 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, these were 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 that Holiday Park and also reflect the size of the Holiday Park.[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 £700million, which included the 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 has always been 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 as British Holidays. Bradley Bear was also introduced to the Tiger Club and Rory and Bradleys 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 changed now to Entertainment Cast and Animation Hosts. Currently as part of £110 million investment in leisure facilities making them more modern flexible spaces, with Entertainment Venues becoming Marina Bar and Stages.[9][10][11]
Following the purchase of Haven by Bourne Leisure they decided to restructure both Haven and British Holidays and sold off many of their smaller holiday parks. 12 of these smaller parks which were subject to a management buyout and went on to form a new holiday company; Park Resorts, some 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 standardized 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]
Acquisitions
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 Cottage's, Elemis Spa, 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. Acquiring a previously family run site in Skegness, Richmond Holiday Centre, which since the 2023 season has been renamed Skegness Holiday Park. The park offers more than 700 pitches of accommodation, swimming pool, entertainment venues and restaurants and not far from Skegness beach. It is also Haven's first Holiday Park in Skegness since it owned Coastfield. [15][16]
On the 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 parks expansion. Once both parks are joined together they will form one of the biggest holiday parks in region. The acquisition forms part of Haven's growth strategy, reflecting the companies confidence in the UK's domestic tourism market, development work is due to start on park in Winter 2024 and will complement the £10 million already invested into the park. [17]
Brands at Haven
At many Haven Parks they have teamed up with some of the nations favourite Food and Drink brands; [18]
They 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, the redesigns were done with Disney, giving the characters a more cartoon look. Bradley Bear was introduced in 1993 as the mascot of British Holidays, Haven Holidays' former sister brand. As the two brands merged when acquired by Bourne Leisure, 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 ditched Merlin, Sylvester and Manic, and it was explained by Haven that Merlin had whisked himself, Sylvester and Manic away to a magical place and he didn't know how to get themselves back.
In 2007, the characters had a group alias for the first time namely the 'Zoo Troop' and all had new costumes by this time, 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 October 1st 2022 – Rory will remain however he has been redesigned, Anxious has decided to use her real name "Annie" and has also had a redesign, Greedy also decides to use his real name "George" and gets the biggest redesign in which he is dyed blue. Bradley Bear will be 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. 3 of the 4 voice actors are unknown but Annie has a Yorkshire accent instead of her original American one, 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 individual, namely Aaron Spendelow.[26]
Many regular holiday makers felt that this was too much of a change in one go, and a petition to keep the characters the same has over 3500 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 situated 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. Whereas 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
Rory the Tiger (1988–present)
George the Gorilla (1991–present) (formerly known as Greedy the Gorilla until 2022)
Annie the Elephant (1991–present) (formerly known as Anxious the Elephant until 2022)
Jaz Bear (2022–present)
Former mascots
Bradley Bear (1993–2022) (Originally British Holidays)
Sylvester the Snake (1990–2009)
Manic the Parrot (1990–2009)
DJ Ned PenDragon (2000–2023) (formerly known as Naughty Ned until 2010) (Originally British Holidays) Who remains in the form of a puppet, adorning a big personality change alongside multiple other differences
Polly Popkins the Lifeguard (1998–2023) (Originally British Holidays) Who also remains in the form of a puppet, adorning a big personality change alongside multiple other differences
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)
There are currently 38[30] Haven parks in the United Kingdom.
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.
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)
Caister-on-Sea, also known colloquially as Caister, is a large village and seaside resort in Norfolk, England. It is north of the town of Great Yarmouth. At the 2001 census it had a population of 8,756 and 3,970 households, the population increasing to 8,901 at the 2011 Census.
A seaside resort is a city, town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German Seebad. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.
Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families.
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is 43 miles (69 km) east of Lincoln and 22 miles (35 km) north-east of Boston. With a population of 21,128 as of 2021, it is the largest settlement in East Lindsey. It incorporates Winthorpe and Seacroft, and forms a larger built-up area with the resorts of Ingoldmells and Chapel St Leonards to the north. The town is on the A52 and A158 roads, connecting it with Boston and the East Midlands, and Lincoln respectively. Skegness railway station is on the Nottingham to Skegness line.
A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation, primarily in the United Kingdom, that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with terms such as holiday park, resort, holiday village and holiday centre replacing it.
Mablethorpe is a seaside town in the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. In 1961 the civil parish had a population of 3,611. On 1 April 1974 the parish was changed to form "Mablethorpe and Sutton". The population including nearby Sutton-on-Sea was 12,531 at the 2011 census and estimated at 12,633 in 2019.
Camber Sands is a beach in East Sussex, England, in the village of Camber, near Rye. It is the only sand dune system in East Sussex, and is east of the estuary of the River Rother at Rye Bay stretching 3 miles (4.8 km) to just beyond the Kent border, where shingle and pebbles take over again. It is one of three stretches of non-tidally submerged sand east of Poole Bay on England's south coast, the others being West Wittering and Avon Beach. Two holiday resorts near Camber Sands are owned by Pontins and Parkdean Resorts just off New Lydd Road and Lydd Road respectively in the adjoining village of Camber.
Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK, founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. It was acquired by Britannia Hotels in 2011.
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Brean Leisure Park is an amusement park in the coastal resort of Brean, near Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England. The park covers an area of 200 acres (80.9 ha).
Ingoldmells is a coastal village, civil parish and resort in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A52, and 3 miles (5 km) north from the resort town of Skegness.
Beach racing is a motorsport offshoot of enduro and motocross racing. As the name implies, riders on solo motorcycles, quad bikes, or sidecar combinations compete on a course marked out on a beach, often with man made jumps and sand dunes being constructed to make the course tougher.
The Jolly Fisherman is a poster created by artist John Hassall in 1908 after he had been commissioned by the Great Northern Railway (GNR). It is regarded as one of the most famous holiday advertisements of all time and is believed to have influenced the success of Skegness, Lincolnshire as a holiday destination. Hassall was paid 12 Guineas for his work, and the original painting hangs in the town hall at Skegness.
Park Holidays UK operates 54 holiday parks in the UK and is one of the largest holiday park operators in the UK, offering caravan and lodge holidays, glamping breaks, touring and camping, and holiday home ownership. It has parks in both country and coastal locations. The company is a member of the British Holiday and Home Parks Association (BH&HPA).
Butlins Skegness, formerly Butlin's Skegness or Funcoast World; is a holiday camp located in Ingoldmells near Skegness in Lincolnshire, England. Billy Butlin conceived of its creation based on his experiences at a Canadian summer camp in his youth and by observation of the actions of other holiday accommodation providers, both in seaside resort lodging houses and in earlier smaller holiday camps.
Warner Hotels is a hospitality company owning 14 country and coastal properties around the UK in North Wales, Somerset, Herefordshire, Berkshire, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Isle of Wight, Suffolk, Hampshire and Warwickshire. Founded in 1932 as Warner Holiday Camps, later known as Warner Holidays and has been adult only since 1994. In the 1990s Warner's started developing country house hotels and changing their existing 'camps' into coastal resorts and hotels.
Parkdean Resorts is a holiday park operator in the United Kingdom. It was formed in November 2015 through the merger of Parkdean Holidays and Park Resorts. As of 2022 it operates 66 holiday parks across England, Scotland, and Wales, and is the largest holiday park operator in the UK. Parkdean invested £140 million into its parks in the UK in 2021 and 2022.
The Firsby to Skegness railway line is a branch railway line, in Lincolnshire, England. It was built by an independent company to connect Wainfleet, at first, and then the seaside town of Skegness, with the main line network at Firsby. It opened in 1871 from Firsby to Wainfleet, and 1873 throughout.
References
↑ Haven Leisure Ltd, Report and Financial Statements, 31 December 2010
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£271.1 million (2013) [1] 
