In a ‘particularly difficult’ period for the UK holiday park sector, Newcastle-headquartered Parkdean Holidays turned out results that met some, and fell short of other, much-reduced forecasts. A long-running bid situation provides the short-term interest, though chairman Graham Wilson and chief executive John Waterworth are confident their strategy of ‘improving and expanding the existing estate and acquiring additional parks will deliver long-term value to shareholders’.

Engaged in bid discussions since October, Parkdean’s original suitor, the Grainger Trust, left the table and was replaced by ‘a number of preliminary approaches from other parties’. Aggressive property investor Jack Petchey’s Trefick vehicle has built a stake of over 10%.

Pre-exceptional pre-tax profits for the year to end-October came in slightly higher than last year at £9.2m (2004: £9.1m) on turnover up 39% at £84.2m. A final dividend of 3.7p was recommended, which would make for a year’s 6.5p, an 18% increase. Broker KBC downgrades its forecasts by 5% to pre-tax profits of £10m and EPS of 13p for 2006.

Recommended by GCI at 109.5 in January 2003 and twice labeled on theses pages as one to reduce at 242.5p and 236p in March 2004, Parkdean presently sits at a price slightly above its NAV per share, estimated to be between 222p (KBC Peel Hunt) and ‘at least’ 230p (Altium Capital). A suitor could make an offer of at least a 10% premium to that.

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