Management Buy Out Resort
MBO at Bluestone provides growth opportunities for premier Welsh tourism business
The founders and executives at Pembrokeshire’s Bluestone National Park Resort have secured a Management Buy-Out (MBO), allowing Wales’ premier luxury short break holiday destination to push ahead with expansion plans.
The undisclosed MBO from investors Lloyds Banking Group and Finance Wales secures the business’ future as one of the UK’s leading independent tourism destinations.
Chief Executive, William McNamara OBE, along with Commercial Director, Pamela Joseph, Operations Director, Ian Bartlett, and Finance Director, Neil Evans, has led the buy-out. The MBO is backed by a syndicate of private individuals, including Andrew Probert and Heather Stevens.
The investment will also allow the near 500 staff at the resort to benefit from an Employee Benefit Trust, which will be launched later in the year – reaffirming the business’ ethos of being a local, sustainable business.
“This is great news for Bluestone, for Pembrokeshire, and for Wales,” said Mr McNamara, who was the brainchild behind Bluestone which opened exactly five years ago this month.
“This is a great fifth birthday present for Bluestone, our staff, and the local community and economy. It ensures Bluestone is kept in Welsh ownership and control with a management team driven to developing and sustaining a business employing over 500 people in Pembrokeshire.
“We’ve seen considerable growth since we opened in July 2008, attracting over 350,000 visitors into Pembrokeshire and we have further growth plans that will create new employment and bring more visitors into the area to support the wider tourism and economic communities.”
Advisors on the MBO were Gambit and Acuity Legal. Advisors to Lloyds Banking Group and Finance Wales were Deloitte and Eversheds.
Bluestone, best known for its ‘Free Range’ holidays, is now well established as a brand throughout the UK, attracting visitors from throughout the south and west of England, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, the Midlands, the North West of England, and throughout Wales. It is also seeing growth from the Irish market.
The resort has nearly 300 luxury lodges, cottages, and studio apartments set around a private Welsh village that includes a spa, shops, a pub, and restaurants.
Bluestone markets Pembrokeshire as a location and promotes itself as a base from which to explore West Wales, visiting the stunning coastline, towns, and villages and supporting the local economy.
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For more media information, contact:
Owain Betts, PR and Media Relations
T: 01686 688008 / 07787 437052
E: OBetts@bluestonewales.com
w: http://www.bluestonewales.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bluestonewales
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bluestonewales (@bluestonewales)
Notes to the Editor
Bluestone is a luxury short-break holiday destination situated in the spectacular Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in West Wales with a strong sustainable and environmental ethos.
Opened in July 2008, Bluestone sits within 500 acres of countryside and woods near Narberth and close to the coastal town of Tenby. It comprises nearly 300 luxury timber lodges, cottages, and studio apartments surrounding a private village.
Among its attractions are the Blue Lagoon water park and Adventure Centre, which are open to day visitors, the award-winning Well Spa and its thermal and treatment rooms, the Steep Ravine with high ropes and zip wire, and the Tournament Field, with everything from a giant catapult to archery and crossbow action.
Bluestone offers a wide range of activities for all ages and abilities, including archery, laser clay shooting, a high ropes course, Woodland Warriors laser combat game, and a breath-taking nature trail.
Environmental responsibility is central to the Bluestone ethos and shapes every aspect of it. From the use of natural, sustainable materials wherever possible, to solar-heated water in the lodges, and a unique biomass energy center that provides carbon-neutral heat for Blue Lagoon and the Adventure Centre.
In 2012 and 2013, Bluestone was accredited with Level Five of the prestigious Welsh Government-backed Green Dragon Award for its environmental work on a day-to-day basis.
Bluestone has won numerous national and regional environmental and sustainable awards, including the coveted Management for Resource Efficiency Premier Award in the Business Commitment to the Environment Awards. It has also been awarded nationally and regionally in the Business in the Community’s Awards for Excellence.
In July 2012 Bluestone was awarded the British Venture Capital Association’s UK Community and Environmental Award in London.
Bluestone currently employs over 500 people and continues to recruit. The company is committed to recruiting local people to fill its vacancies, as far as possible.