JLL advises KKR on the acquisition of holiday parks operator Roompot Group

LONDON, 7 September 2020 – JLL has advised leading global investment firm KKR on the acquisition of Roompot Group from European private equity firm PAI Partners. Roompot is a provider of holiday parks in Western Europe and the largest operator in the Netherlands. It owns and operates 33 parks in the Netherlands and Germany and serves as a platform for more than 100 third-party operated parks to support their booking and distribution, in addition to providing development, design and restyling services.

JLL advised KKR in the underwriting and pricing of the real estate and operational business of the group.

KKR will continue to support Roompot’s management team with its strategy as a leading pan-European operator driven by strong domestic tourism. The investment continues KKR’s track record in the Netherlands with recent investments including Upfield (formerly Unilever’s Spreads business), Exact Software (a leading provider of accounting software to SMBs) and Q-Park (a pan-European parking services provider).

Will Duffey, Head of EMEA Hotels & Hospitality Capital Markets, JLL said: “We are delighted to have supported KKR in this significant transaction, which marks an important step into the holiday parks market and is a great vote of confidence for the sector in Europe.”

Gwenola Donet, Head of EMEA Hotels & Hospitality Strategic Advisory, JLL, added: “Roompot is a leading player in the sector and has exceptional growth potential and opportunity to consolidate in Europe building on robust market fundamentals. The momentum on holiday parks and “open-air hospitality” investment is gaining traction in Europe. It is now a niche and structured market, with a lot of potential given the still fragmented nature of the sector. We look forward to working with the team over the coming years in helping them grow and scale this strategic investment opportunity.”

Harry Hawksby, Director Hotels & Hospitality, JLL added: “The ‘staycation’ trend and holiday parks business is a rapidly growing market. Building on our robust holiday parks knowledge and unparalleled capital markets expertise, we were able to work on the portfolio and priced the 21 largest assets of the portfolio under a tight timeline supporting our client on this significant deal.’’