Pontins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Pontins Holiday Parks

Entrance to Brean Sands camp
Trade name	Pontins
Type	Private limited company
Industry	Holiday / Leisure
Founded	1946 (1946)
Founder	Fred Pontin
Headquarters	St Helier, Jersey (registered office) Hale, Greater Manchester, England (contact address)
Number of locations	Two holiday parks in UK
Products	Family holiday parks
Owner	Britannia Hotels
Number of employees	715

Pontins is a British company that runs holiday parks in the UK. It was started in 1946 by Fred Pontin. In 2011, another company called Britannia Hotels bought Pontins.

Pontins offers holidays where families can stay in small homes called "apartments" (also known as chalets). These holidays often include meals and lots of fun entertainment.

In 2022, a survey by a group called Which? looked at 19 holiday park chains in Britain. Pontins was rated as the least popular.

Right now, no Pontins holiday parks are open for guests. The two remaining locations are being used to house workers instead.

The Story of Pontins Holiday Parks

Brean Sands holiday park in 2008

Fred Pontin opened his very first holiday camp in 1946. It was built on an old U.S. army base from World War II near Weston-super-Mare in Somerset. It cost about £23,000 to set up.

Within a year, Fred Pontin had six holiday camps. Over time, he bought more camps. He would run them himself for a year before selling them to his company. Eventually, his holiday empire grew to include thirty different sites.

Fun and Entertainment at Pontins

Entrance to Camber Sands camp in 2017, a few years before it closed in 2023

Pontins camps were usually smaller and cost less than other big holiday camps like Butlin's. Pontins had their own special entertainers called Bluecoats. These Bluecoats would put on shows and activities for the guests.

Some famous people who started as Bluecoats include Stu Francis, Shane Richie, Bobby Davro, Bradley Walsh, Nick Wilton, Lee Mack, and Carol Lee Scott (who later played "Grotbags").

Changes in Ownership

In 1978, the Pontins company was sold to Coral for £56 million. Then, in 1980, Bass Brewing took over Coral, which included Pontins.

In 1987, Bass Brewing sold Pontins to a team of managers. This team was led by Trevor Hemmings. Pontins was sold again in 1989 to Scottish & Newcastle.

Play equipment at the now-closed Camber Sands camp in 2017

Over the next ten years, Pontins closed or sold many of its sites. In the mid-1990s, the remaining camps were updated and made more modern. By 2000, only eight camps were left, and the company was sold back to Trevor Hemmings.

In 2008, a company called Ocean Parcs bought Pontins for £46 million. However, one holiday centre, Wall Park, was not part of this sale.

In 2009, Pontins announced that its Hemsby holiday centre would close. Pontins Blackpool also closed in October 2009 and was later taken down to build houses. This left only five parks still open under the Pontins name.

Pontins' main office moved to the Southport Holiday Park. Before that, it was in a village called Eccleston, Lancashire.

Wick Ferry Pontins camp in 1971

In September 2009, Pontins shared plans for a big investment to improve its five remaining parks. In 2010, they added a new restaurant and an ice skating rink at Prestatyn Sands. Brean Sands got a new roller skating rink. There were also plans to rebuild the Camber Sands and Southport parks.

In November 2010, Pontins faced financial difficulties. In January 2011, Britannia Hotels bought the company. In 2014, Britannia Hotels also bought the former Pontins resort at Sand Bay. This made it the sixth resort to be run by Pontins under its new owner.

On November 30, 2023, Britannia Hotels suddenly closed the parks at Prestatyn and Camber Sands. This affected many people who had booked holidays for Christmas. On January 3, 2024, the Southport park also closed suddenly because of flooding from Storm Henk.

Important Changes for Fairness

In March 2021, a person working at Pontins shared a document with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). This document listed certain surnames, mostly Irish, and said that people with these names were "undesirable guests." This meant their bookings were to be refused. This was done to unfairly stop people from certain backgrounds from staying at the parks.

The EHRC looked into this practice and found that Pontins was "directly discriminating" against people because of their background. This broke a law called the Equality Act 2010. The company that owns Pontins, Britannia Hotels, made a legal promise to the EHRC. They agreed to stop this unfair practice and change their rules and systems to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Current Pontins Resorts

As of January 2024^[update] As of early 2024, Pontins has two resorts. However, they are currently closed to holiday guests:

• Brean Sands, Burnham on Sea, Somerset: This park is closed to guests from January 2023 to November 2025. It is being used to house workers building the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.
• Pakefield, Suffolk: This park is for adults only. It is closed to guests from April 2024 to house workers building the Sizewell C nuclear power station.

Former Pontins Resorts

Entrance to Blackpool camp in November 2009, shortly after closure

Balloon car 707, seen with an all over advert for Pontin's, at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1990

Chalets at former Camber Sands camp

Over the years, many Pontins resorts have either closed down or been sold to other companies. Here are some of them: