Butlin's
Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Leisure |
| Founded | 1 January 1936 (First site, Skegness) 9 April 2000 (As present company) |
| Founder | Billy Butlin |
| Headquarters | Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | Jon Hendry Pickup (CEO) |
| Products | Seaside resorts |
| Brands | Mattel Television characters |
| Revenue | £184.6m (2010) |
| £17.2m (2010) | |
Net income | £12.2m (2010) |
| Owner | Harris Family Trusts |
Number of employees | 3,571 (2010) |
| Website | butlins |
Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and one in the Bahamas. In the 1970s and 1980s, Butlin's also operated numerous large hotels, including one in Spain, a number of smaller holiday parks in England and France, and a revolving restaurant in the Post Office Tower in London.
Tough competition from overseas package holiday operators, rising operational costs, and rapidly changing demand, forced many of the Butlin's operations to close in the 1980s and 1990s. Three of the original camps remain open under the Butlins brand in Bognor Regis, Minehead, and Skegness. They are now owned and run by Butlins Skyline Ltd, which is now wholly owned by the Harris Family Trust.