PorlockCaravan Park
A well capitalised, 5 star mixed holiday park in a prime coastal locationwith planning for further development.
For sale freehold
High Bank • Porlock • Minehead • Exmoor National Park • Somerset
SummaryA profi table holiday park overlooking the coast within the Exmoor National Park
55 statics – 44 private owner units, 40 12’ wide and 4 10’ wide. 9 modern 2/3 bedroom holiday hire fl eet units – all 2007
to 2010 units. 40 touring pitches with electric hook-ups – 14 hard standings. 3.4 acre rally fi eld. High quality facilities and new security entrance barriers
installed for 2010. Reception / park offi ce and workshop, nature garden,
dog walking area. Three bedroom park home and one bedroom staff unit,
both recently refurbished to a high standard. Warden’s seasonal holiday static. Planning consent for new reception/park offi ce with three
bedroom owner’s unit over and one bedroom disabledholiday unit.
Background and the OpportunityThe vendors purchased Porlock Caravan Park approximately 5 years ago and during their ownership have upgraded the park considerably to include both services and facilities. The park is now graded 5 star by the English Tourism Council and has many other accolades. The improvements have led to increased margins on caravan sales and hire fl eet / tourer occupancy. Planning consent has recently been granted for a new reception building with offi ce, staff facilities and a one bedroom holiday letting unit, together with a three bedroom owners unit at fi rst fl oor level. There may be the opportunity in the future, subject to planning, to replace the tourers with holiday statics as the touring fi eld is centrally located with the statics surrounding. The vendors are seeking to semi-retire to a smaller static park.
LocationPorlock Caravan Park occupies a prime location on gently sloping ground on the western outskirts of the coastal town of Porlock which in turn lies on the attractive, rugged North Devon coast within the Exmoor National Park. The park has views over the coast and Porlock Bay to the Bristol Channel beyond and lies under a backdrop of the Exmoor National Park which lies to the south. The centre of Porlock is a short walk from the park and the village comprises a myriad of small shops to include two convenience stores, newsagent, pharmacy, butcher, antique and similar stores, together with pubs and restaurants all of which are a considerable draw for people staying on the park. The park also benefi ts from being within walking distance of Bossington and West Porlock beaches and the South West Coastal Path and the vast expanse of Exmoor National Park stretches inland providing wonderful scenery and rambling opportunities.
There are a range of day visitor attractions within close proximity to the park to include Minehead which has a range of amusement and leisure facilities as well as a Butlins, which is open to tourists on a day ticket basis, and the West Somerset Railway. Beyond Minehead is the medieval village of Dunster with its impressive National Trust Castle and delightful town centre.
Communications are good and the park is well signed off the A39 within Porlock. The A39 is the main route from the M5 at Bridgwater (30 miles) or via the A358 from/to Taunton. The A39 leads westwards from Porlock toward Barnstaple (32 miles) via Lynton and Lynmouth.
DescriptionThe park lies a short distance off the A39 main route through Porlock and is approached via High Bank, a no through road. There is a wide splayed entrance leading to a central parking area fronting onto the reception building with new security barriers to either side. From the entrance barriers, a tarmacadam driveway radiates out around the park which has a gently sloping aspect overlooking the coast and is surrounded by a hedge, punctuated with mature trees.
Centrally located, between the security barriers at the entrance to the park, is the reception / park offi ce building with one bedroom staff unit to one side. The building is single storey with a reception offi ce with tourist information, refrigerator, games / library and a reception desk with separate park offi ce to the rear and storage cupboards. A door leads through to a staff kitchen area with door onto an outside compound area laid to concrete with a greenhouse, storage shed and gas storage. The new replacement reception building proposed is larger and incorporates a 3 bedroom owners / manager’s unit at fi rst fl oor level.
To one side of the reception building is a refurbished one bedroom staff unit which comprises an entrance hall, kitchen / breakfast room with plumbing for washing and drying machine, gas cooker and single bowl sink unit together with worktops incorporating base units and wall cupboards; bathroom with panelled bath with shower over, wash hand basin and WC; double bedroom with large wardrobe; and a living room. The fl at has been thoroughly refurbished over the last fi ve years by the existing owners. Incorporated in the plans for the new reception building is a one bedroom disabled holiday letting unit.
The 55 serviced static holiday caravans are laid out around the boundary of the overall park. 44 units are occupied by private owners and there are nine good quality modern, 2/3 bedroom hire fl eet units with a maximum age of 3 seasons, together with a warden’s seasonal caravan. Most of the pitches are 12’ wide with an average length of appoximately 35’ and there is parking on the grass beside each static pitch. A seasonal warden’s unit and the owner’s park home occupy two pitches.
The central area of the park is laid to grass with a number of trees, and there are 40 touring pitches, 14 with hard standings and all with electric hook-ups (46 hook-ups in total).
On the northern side of the park there is a refurbished shower / toilet block which has regularly won “Loo of the Year” 5 star award in recent years. The facilities include hair and hand dryers, baby changing facilities and automatic lighting control. The accommodation comprises:-
Gents with 3 urinals, 4 WC’s, 3 wash hand basins, 1 wash hand basin cubicle, a separate area with 3 shower cubicles.
Indoor Elsan chemical disposal point with two fl ush units and a wash hand basin.
Ladies with 3 wash hand basins, 2 wash hand basin cubicles, 4 WC’s, separate shower area with 3 cubicles.
Fully fi tted disabled unit with WC, wash hand basin and shower unit.
A separate building on the western side of the park incorporates a launderette and wash-up area together with a new motor home service area to the outside. The launderette comprises coin operated washing and drying machines (£3 per wash approximately), a spinner, two ironing boards and a sink unit. The wash-up room comprises a fridge freezer, coin operated microwave and four stainless steel sink units.
Below the main park area, there is a nature area with shrubs, trees and a small pond with an open rally fi eld beyond with well tended grass which comprises 1.38 ha / 3.4 acres. Around 2 sides of the fi eld there is a fenced dog walking area.
A 40ft x 20ft park home unit is located close to the reception area and has been thoroughly refurbished by the vendors to provide an excellent owner’s / manager’s home unit which could in turn, following development of the new reception building, be used as a letting unit, subject to planning. The accommodation comprises a porch leading to a galley kitchen with modern timber units incorporating sink unit, gas hob, double oven unit, dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer together with a host of wall and base units with worktops. From the kitchen an archway leads through to the living / dining room which is L shaped and has excellent views over the park. A doorway leads to a hallway with further doorways to a single bedroom; shower room with fi tted shower, WC and wash hand basin; and two double bedrooms both with fi tted wardrobes.
A workshop and store is located in the north-eastern corner of the site close to the main toilet block. To the rear of the building there is a plant room which services the toilet and shower block and two stables which are used for storage.
ServicesThe property is connected to the following main services:
Water – metered at the entrance to the park and connected to the static pitches with stand pipes around the touring park and at the entrance to the rally fi eld.
High Bank • Porlock • Minehead • Exmoor National Park • Somerset
Electricity – the electric supply has been upgraded by the current owners and is a metered 16 amps supply to the static units and 10 amps to the touring park hook-ups (46 in all). An electrical test has been carried out in March 2010.
Drainage – pumped from the lower part of the park to the main in High Bank with new pump fi tted in 2005.
The Park also has the benefi t of WiFi access and bottled gas is sold by the park to customers. The new entrance barrier may be programmed for the duration of a customers stay. It would be a simple job to upgrade the pitches to Super pitches.
The hot water system in the toilet block has been renewed in the last fi ve years to include solar panels and a modern propane gas fi red system with three interconnected combi-boilers (Rinnai HD50i Units). The launderette/wash-up building has a new Andrews combi-boiler.
The park home unit has the benefi t of a propane gas fi red central heating and hot water system and the reception and one bedroom staff unit are heated by electric systems.
The BusinessPorlock Caravan Park is currently operated fully in hand by the vendors together with one full-time employee and one part-time employee together with seasonal wardens who reside in one of the static caravans and 2/3 part-time cleaners for letting fl eet change-over days.
The private owner static pitches are a particular feature of the Park and the grade of caravan sold over the last fi ve years has increased considerably with current margins averaging approximately £10,000 plus for a new unit, with unit prices up to £50,000 and profi t margins of approximately £7,000 for second-hand units. Pitch fees are currently £1,968 including VAT for a ten month season. Eight older units are on an eight month season paying £1,615.63 per annum inclusive of VAT. Water, drainage and commercial rates are paid in addition (£291.40 each in 2009) and electricity is charged on the basis of a meter reading on an annual basis.
The 2010 tariff for touring pitches is at a basic rate of £19.50 per night for two people including an electric hook-up with additional charges for different types of unit, additional people/children, awnings, etc. Touring receipts over the last two years have been over £1,500 per pitch and there has been an increasing trend of occupancy and bookings over this period. A variation has recently been made to the site licence to allow seasonal tourers on the park.
The holiday letting of the nine hire fl eet units shows a good consistent turnover in the range of £60,000 to £65,000 over the last three years approximately and the weekly tariff for 2010 will be in the range of £310 to £535, subject to season and type/size of unit. The average occupancy over the last three years has been approximately 26 weeks per season.
The Park achieves many accolades and is graded 5 Star by the English Tourism Council, has four AA Pennants and is affi liated to the Camping and Caravanning Club. The Park also regularly wins the “David Bellamy Gold Award” and “Loo of the Year Award – 5 Star”. Generally, the Park attracts the older, more mature customer and has an excellent reputation.
Gross profi t over the last two seasons has been relatively consistent in the range of £225,000 - £250,000 per annum and is infl uenced by the level of caravan sales.
Planning and Site LicencePlanning is fully in place for the existing use of the property for a ten month season from 15 March to the 15 January in the following year and the tourers have a 7½ month season from mid March to the end of October.
Planning consent was granted on 14 July 2009 for the redevelopment of the reception and staff unit to form a much larger two storey unit comprising approximately 242.25 sq m / 2,608 sq ft overall (gross internal) to include at ground fl oor level a central reception area with reception desk and staff room to the rear, and to one side a separate staff offi ce, laundry / linen store, storage room and staff
HLL Copyright Re HMSOLicense No. 100020449
This plan is for identifi cationpurposes only and does notform part of any contract.Not to Scale.
WC with separately accessed electricity switch room. To the other side of the unit at ground fl oor level is a separate one bedroom disabled letting unit with living room / dining room / kitchen, shower room and double/twin bedroom. At fi rst fl oor level, there is a large three bedroom owner’s unit with balcony overlooking the Park. The accommodation will comprise a hallway, kitchen/dining room/lounge, three bedrooms, one with ensuite shower room and a separate family bathroom.
In addition, a planning application has recently been made to renew the temporary consent for the owner’s park home unit which is expected to be approved at least for use until the new reception building is developed. All the residential uses on the park are tied to the park.
The property has the benefi t of a standard site licence in connection with the above uses and a Public Health Act 1936 licence for the tourers / tents. A 28 day use restriction of a touring pitch has been lifted which will allow a new owner to site seasonal touring caravans in the future.
IMPORTANT NOTICEHLL Humberts Leisure for themselves and for the vendors of this property for whom they act give notice that:-
1. These particulars are prepared for the guidance only of prospective purchasers. They are intended to give a fair and overall description of the property and do not constitute the whole or any part of an offer or contract.
2. Any information contained herein (whether in text, plans or photographs) is given in good faith but should not be relied upon as being a statement or representation of fact.
3. Nothing in these particulars shall be deemed to be a statement that the property is in good condition or otherwise nor that any services or facilities are in good working order.
4. It should not be assumed that any contents, furnishings, furniture or equipment are included in the sale, nor that the property remains as displayed in the photographs. No assumption should be made with regard to parts of the property that have not been photographed.
5. Any areas, measurements or distances referred to herein are approximate only.
6. It should not be assumed that the property has all necessary planning, building regulation or other consents and these matters must be verifi ed by an intending purchaser.
7. The information in these particulars is given without responsibility on the part of the agents or their clients and neither the agents nor their employees have any authority to make or give any representations or warranties whatever in relation to this property.
8. HLL Humberts Leisure will not be liable, in negligence or otherwise for any injury or loss arising from the use of these particulars.
9. These particulars were fi rst produced in April 2010 and the photographs were taken previously.
12 Bolton StreetLondon W1J 8BD
Tel: 020 7629 6700Fax: 020 7409 0475
Humberts Leisure Ltd. Registered in England & Wales No. 2567699
VAT No. 761 451 929Registered Offi ce:
12 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London, W1J [email protected]
RatesThe new rateable value of the property has been assessed at £39,300 and the rates payable for the 2010 will the £16,270.20 at 41.4p in the pound.
The vendor’s park home is separately assessed for Council Tax within Band A. The amount payable for 2010/11 is £970.96.
TenureThe overall property is held freehold and individual caravans are sold on an annual Agreement. All new caravan owners in the last fi ve years have been given 15 year term verbally. There are no rights of way or easements which affect the title of the property.
Terms of SaleThe property is offered for sale freehold as a going concern with any stock (to include caravan stock) to be purchased at valuation on completion.
Viewing, Directions& Further Information Viewing of the property is strictly by appointment through HLL Humberts Leisure. To book an appointment please contact, John Mitchell BSc MRICS, Charlie Mason BA (Hons) MSc MRICS or Sonia Marchant. Prior to making an appointment to inspect the property, it is fi rmly recommended that interested parties satisfy themselves with regard to the particulars of sale set out above and the status of sale in order that they do not make a wasted journey to the property.
Directions: The property is approached off the A39 which is the main coastal route running through Porlock. From the centre of Porlock follow the A39 westwards towards Lynton / Barnstaple and at the end of the High Street turn right onto the B3225 to Porlock Weir and the touring park. Follow this minor road for approximately 100 yards and turn right as signed into High Bank and the park will be found after a short distance on the left.
The postcode for the property is TA24 8ND
A further information pack to include planning, site licence, accounts and other information is available on application to HLL Humberts Leisure. For additional information on the park: www.porlockcaravanpark.co.uk
