Pontins closes third holiday park in two months

Pontins, the holiday park firm owned by Britannia Hotels, has closed its third site in under two months.

Its resort at Southport held a New Year’s Eve party for families over the weekend but shut permanently on 3 January.

A statement on Pontins’ Facebook page said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of Pontins Southport Holiday Park. After assessing the future viability of the park, we have come to the difficult decision to close our doors.

“Unfortunately, this means that Pontins Southport Holiday Park will be closing from Wednesday 3 January 2024.”

Pontins said customer bookings would be refunded and apologised for “any inconvenience caused”.

The announcement comes after Pontins closed its parks in Prestatyn and Camber Sands on 30 November.

Pontins was founded in 1946 when its first family holiday park opened on the site of a former US army base at Brean Sands in Somerset.

It was bought out of administration by Britannia in 2011 when it had six sites. Only two resorts now remain: Pakefield Holiday Village in Lowestoft and Sand Bay Holiday Village in Weston-Super-Mare.

Britannia’s properties include the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool, the Metropole Hotel in Blackpool and the Grand Hotel Scarborough.

The group was named the UK's worst hotel chain by Which? For the 11th year in a row in 2023.

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