European Camping Group (“ECG”), a European leader in outdoor accommodation backed by PAI Partners, today announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire Vacanceselect (‘’the Company’’), a leading campsite and mobile-home operator, from funds advised by Permira and minority shareholders including The Ganivenq Family and Batipart.
Headquartered in Montpellier, France, Vacanceselect is present in over 270 campsites, located across attractive holiday-making European destinations such as France, Italy, Spain and Croatia. The Company operates 22,000 mobile-homes under the Tohapi and Vacanceselect brands. Vacanceselect has a strong presence throughout the camping and outdoor accommodation value chain, including rental activities, mobile home sales and online digital distribution.
Since acquiring ECG (which is well-known for its brands Homair Vacances, Eurocamp, Roan and Marvilla) in September 2021, PAI Partners has been working closely with the management team to continue the company’s expansion through both organic growth and M&A. Vacanceselect is a transformational acquisition for ECG, allowing it to accelerate this growth trajectory, solidifying its business model and enhancing its premium value proposition.
Under the Permira funds’ ownership, the Company has more than doubled in size through a combination of portfolio expansion (from 45 to 65 owned campsites), significant investment in the premiumisation of its sites, and the expansion and increased ownership of its distribution across all key European markets.
Alain Calmé, President of ECG, said: “The combination of ECG and Vacanceselect creates a French champion and European leader in the outdoor accommodation space, offering more than 400 destinations to our clients. We are confident in the prospects for our sector which is seeing consistently increasing demand. Thanks to the continuous improvements to our accommodation and campsite facilities and, as a result, to the overall client experience, our combined offering will be even more attractive to European families.”
Philippe de Trémiolles, Managing Director at ECG, added: “This is the perfect moment for us to accelerate our development through the combination with Vacanceselect. Following this acquisition, we will continue to improve the quality, affordability and, above all, the sustainability of our offering given the significantly lower carbon footprint of campsites.”
Bertrand Monier, Partner at PAI, said: “The combination creates the number 3 player in Europe and the number 1 in France, with approximately 10% market share, leaving room for further consolidation and expansion. By offering value-for-money holidays, the sector has proved its resilience to downturns and is expected to be well-protected from the current volatile macro environment.”
Benoit Vauchy, Partner at Permira, said: “It has been a privilege to support Vacanceselect over the past seven years and we would like to thank Aymar Hénin and his team for our collaborative partnership. We are confident that the company will continue to go from strength to strength across Europe through this combination with ECG and wish them every success in the future.”
PAI Partners was advised by Rothschild & Co and BNP Paribas (M&A), Shearman & Sterling (Legal), Clifford Chance (Antitrust), PwC (Financial), Roland Berger and Kearney (Commercial and Operations) and Mayer Brown (Tax). Permira was advised by Amala Partners (M&A), Clifford Chance (Legal), PwC (Financial).
The transaction, is subject to customary closing conditions, including an employee consultation process and antitrust approvals.
