Butlin's

Butlins Skyline Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryLeisure
Founded1 January 1936 (1936-01-01)
(First site, Skegness)
9 April 2000 (2000-04-09)
(As present company)
FounderBilly Butlin
HeadquartersHemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England
Area served
United Kingdom
Key people
Jon Hendry Pickup[1][2]
(CEO)
ProductsSeaside resorts
BrandsMattel Television characters
RevenueIncrease £184.6m (2010)[3]
Increase £17.2m (2010)[3]
Increase £12.2m (2010)[3]
OwnerHarris Family Trusts
Number of employees
3,571 (2010)[3]
Websitebutlins.com

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.

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.[4]

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.

The architecture seen in this 1985 photograph of Butlin's in Ayr was typical of most camps before refurbishment. Note the rows of chalets in the distance.
  1. ^ Davies, Phil (26 April 2018). "Prezzo chief executive to take helm at Butlin's". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  2. ^ Walker, Rob (24 March 2019). "Hi-de-high-end: how Butlin's has climbed from camp to resort". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d Butlins Skyline Ltd, Report and Financial Statements 31 December 2010
  4. ^ Summary of Butlins history on Butlin's website. Butlins (15 April 2011). Retrieved 13 July 2011.