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Christie & Co's Business Outlook 2025 reports continued demand for UK leisure businesses

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has today launched its annual Business Outlook report, 'Business Outlook 2025', which reflects on key market activity, trends and challenges of 2024 and forecasts what 2025 might bring across the industries in which Christie & Co operates, including the leisure sector.

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The report acknowledges the increasing employer costs and taxations announced in the Labour Government’s Autumn Budget, which will affect all businesses in the UK. The report also notes that while many operators will look to offset these increased costs onto consumers, this may prove challenging in sectors such as leisure, where spending is more discretionary, and consumers may resist. To maintain operating margins in 2025, leisure businesses' offerings and services must be of high quality.

In 2024, Christie & Co witnessed an uptick in private equity activity, with a number of consolidation deals, particularly in the holiday parks and marina markets. Buyer sentiment remained largely positive in the operational real estate market, with the view that interest rates should come down at some point during 2025, and in the leisure sector, there was no shortage of buyers for well-presented and invested businesses for sale. According to data from Christie & Co's annual sentiment survey, 73% of leisure operators surveyed are looking to either buy or sell in 2025.

Overall, 2024 was a very successful year for the leisure sector, and Christie & Co expanded its transactional team in response to market demand. Christie & Co continued to value a wide variety of leisure businesses including holiday and residential parks, and marinas, which remain some of the most in-demand and active market segments.

Looking to the year ahead, the report also outlines Christie & Co’s market predictions which are:

  • An increase in corporate M&A activity across the leisure sector, driven by falling interest rates
  • Continued demand is expected for marina businesses in excess of 200 berths, which also have opportunities to diversify
  • Further cross-sector acquisition activity from the marina and holiday park market, as well as smaller investment players
  • A more buoyant caravan and lodge sales market as the cost-of-living crisis subsides
  • The government’s proposed planning reform will prioritise development and remove existing barriers for developers and operators. In turn, this will speed up the planning application process and drive demand in the holiday and residential park market

Jon Patrick, Director - Head of Leisure & Development at Christie & Co comments, “2023 shaped up to be one of the busiest for us in terms of transaction numbers, and whilst the chancellor’s October budget increased operating costs for most leisure operators, those more entrepreneurial operators have come up with solutions and strategies aimed at minimising their impact where consumers will not feel as though they are underwriting the entire cost. The beginning of 2025 has been encouragingly busy, with new sale mandates already hitting the market and operators seeking our advice in connection with valuation and disposal strategies, pointing to what will hopefully be another strong year for leisure business transactional activity.”


Click here to read the full report: https://www.christie.com/news-resources/business-outlook-2025/leisure/

For further information on this press release, contact:

Niamh Toman, Corporate Communications Executive
P: +44 7768 646 984 or E: Niamh.toman@christie.com

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