Peter Harris
BornMarch 1934
NationalityBritish
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder, Bourne Leisure
Owner of Butlins

Peter Harris (born March 1934)[1] is a British businessman. He is best known for founding Bourne Leisure in 1964 and the owner of Butlins from September 2022.

Career

In 1964, Harris co-founded Bourne Leisure, a holiday and leisure company which owns Haven Holidays, Butlins, and Warner Leisure Hotels, after he audited a caravan park in his former role as an accountant. His co-founder was David Allen.[2][3]

In 1977, he began to buy land at Tring in Hertfordshire, where he trained racehorses until 2004.[4] For the next seven years, the training licence was held by his son-in-law Walter Swinburn.[5] Following his retirement as a trainer, Harris remained a significant owner of the yard.[6] Swinburn relinquished his licence at the end of October 2011 for "commercial reasons".[6] The estate was put on the market by Harris shortly after Swinburn's retirement.[4]

In 2013, Harris was honoured by the British Travel & Hospitality Hall of Fame in 2013.[3]

Harris was born in the UK. He owns several other companies, including an aviation business and a golf course.

In 2021, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated his net worth at £1.534 billion.[7]

In 2021, Harris sold his majority shareholding in Bourne Leisure to private equity company, Blackstone in a deal that valued the business at £3 billion. Harris resigned as a director of the business, but remains a minority shareholder.[2][8]

It was announced in September 2022, that the Harris Family Trust had bought back Butlins in a deal estimated to be worth £300 million. However the deal did not include Butlins property assets which were sold earlier in the year to the UK’s largest pension scheme, the Universities Superannuation Scheme, also for £300 million.[9][10]

References

  1. ↑ "Peter Woodstock HARRIS personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Hancock, Alice (11 September 2021). "Butlin's owner Bourne Leisure slumps to loss as pandemic takes toll". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 Group, Travel Weekly. "Hall of Fame: Hall of Fame 2017". evessio.com. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  4. 1 2 "What would you do with Swinburn's £10m racing pad?". Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Walter Swinburn: Triple Win". Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Walter Swinburn will quit training career at the end of next month". TheGuardian.com. September 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "The Sunday Times Rich List 2021". www.thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  8. ↑ Blackstone (29 January 2021). "Blackstone to acquire Bourne Leisure". Blackstone Group.
  9. ↑ "Harris Family Trusts buys Butlin's for £300m". the Guardian. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  10. ↑ https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/haven-owner-sells-butlins-cash-25062567


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