A HOLIDAY park company which lodged failed plans to expand one of its sites has been sold to an American real estate trust for £182million.

Park Leisure, which owned Twin Ghyll Caravan Park at Paythorne, near Gisburn, has been sold to Sun Communities, an American firm which also acquired the Park Holidays group in November.

Last year, Park Leisure 2000 Ltd applied to Ribble Valley Borough Council to change the use of almost 17 hectares of farmland to create space for an extra 62 caravans.

But in January, borough councillors refused the controversial application which attracted more than 670 objections, among them a community protest group based in Paythorne village.

Other objections had come from Paythorne Parish Council, the Woodland Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and Bowland Game-Fishing Association.

The proposals included building a sewerage treatment plant and pumping station and carrying out other work at the site, which currently has a licence for 325 caravans on an existing similar-sized plot.

Midlothian Capital Partners (MCP), which owned the group, was reportedly exploring the sale of the luxury holiday-home and park operator at the time as a result of the huge rise in domestic holiday making during the pandemic.

In December MCP engaged bankers to begin marketing the company, which operates 11 sites across the UK, including in the Ribble Valley. It has now been confirmed that Park Leisure has been sold

A spokesperson for MCP said: "Midlothian Capital Partners and a consortium of investors agreed the sale of Park Leisure 2000 Limited to Sun Communities, Inc for £182million."

Andrew Bracey of MCP and Chairman of Park Leisure, said: “Park Leisure is a great business.

"We invested significant time and resources to help grow and develop the company over the past five years.

"We are delighted to hand stewardship to Sun and Park Holidays - we are confident they will support the company in its next phase of growth."

Richard Bates, CEO of Park Leisure, said: “We are delighted with the sale to Sun Communities.

"As one of the leading holiday operators in the UK we are excited by the opportunity to grow our holiday park footprint even further, continue to enhance our customer experience and to be able to offer more park landscapes and facilities.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals as well as completion of Sun’s acquisition of Park Holidays and is expected to close later in 2022.