Battle · 3 companies
UK holiday parks
Making waves or washed out: the great British staycation showdown
Center Parcs leads on profit margin, growth and net assets; Haven on turnover and pre-tax profit. Haven is the biggest by turnover at £908m, against £540m at Center Parcs. Center Parcs keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £20.63 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are up to 16 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months. files group accounts that include subsidiaries; Center Parcs, Butlin's and Haven file for a single company, which flatters the group on size.
Accounts compared: Center Parcs to Apr 2026 · Butlin's to Dec 2024 · Haven to Dec 2025
The Numbers
| # | Company | Turnover | Change | Pre-tax profit | Margin | Employees | Pay per head | Turnover per head | Net assets | Bank and cash | Accounts to | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HavenHaven Leisure Limited | £908m | +1.0% | £128m | 14.1% | 10,111 | £23,000 | £90,000 | £578m | £31m | Dec 2025 | Single company |
| 2 | Center ParcsCenter Parcs (Operating Company) Limited | £540m | +2.6% | £111m | 20.6% | 7,544 | £21,000 | £72,000 | £1,041m | £47m | Apr 2026 | Single company |
| 3 | Butlin'sButlins Skyline Limited | £288m | -1.8% | £28m | 9.9% | 3,915 | £25,000 | £73,000 | £83m | £10m | Dec 2024 | Single company |
Ranked by turnover. Click any column to sort. The leader on each measure is highlighted. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.).
Category winners
Biggest by turnover
Haven
£908m
Most pre-tax profit
Haven
£128m
Highest profit margin
Center Parcs
20.6%
Fastest-growing turnover
Center Parcs
+2.6%
Biggest employer
Haven
10,111 staff
Highest pay per head
Butlin's
£25,000
Most turnover per head
Haven
£90,000
Largest net assets
Center Parcs
£1,041m
Most cash
Center Parcs
£47m
The Takeaway
- Center Parcs converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £20.63 reaches pre-tax profit, against £9.89 at Butlin's.
- Haven is the largest on the top line, £908m of turnover, 1.7x Center Parcs's £540m.
- Center Parcs is growing fastest, turnover +2.6% on its own prior year. Butlin's went backwards.
- Haven is the biggest employer with 10,111 people; Butlin's pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £25,000.
- Center Parcs has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £1,041m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Center Parcs keeps the most: £20.63 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Butlin's keeps the least, £9.89.
Financing bites hardest at Center Parcs: £14.82 of every £100 goes on interest.
Every profit figure here is the one the company filed.
The chart splits each company's turnover into £100: what goes on people, on interest and on everything else, and what is left as profit.
Out of every £100 of turnover
Each column is £100 of that company's own turnover, so companies of any size compare on one scale; the figures are pounds out of each £100, not millions. Companies run from the best margin to the worst. Payroll is staff costs, financing is interest paid, other running costs are everything else, and profit is pre-tax profit, filed or estimated as marked in the table. A loss is not an extra cost: it is the part of the costs that runs past the £100 line, marked with a red bracket. Hover over any segment for its figure.
Who is the biggest, and does the comparison hold?
By turnover the order is Haven (£908m), Center Parcs (£540m), Butlin's (£288m).
By headcount, Haven leads with 10,111 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: Center Parcs to Apr 2026, Butlin's to Dec 2024, Haven to Dec 2025. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
Center Parcs grew fastest, turnover +2.6% on its own prior year, ahead of Haven (+1.0%), Butlin's (-1.8%).
Turnover change on each company's own prior year
Who employs the most, who pays the most, and who brings in the most per head?
Haven employs the most, 10,111 people, against 7,544 at Center Parcs.
Butlin's has the highest average staff cost, about £25,000 a head; Center Parcs the lowest, about £21,000.
Haven brings in the most turnover per employee, about £90,000, against £72,000 at Center Parcs. It says as much about the business model as the workforce: a marketplace or a wholesaler needs far fewer people per pound than a restaurant or a gym.
Who owns each one?
Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.
Held by Center Parcs (Holdings 3) Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control in the 75% to 100% band. 1 outstanding charge on the register.
Who owns Center Parcs →
Butlins Skyline Limited · 04011665Held by Accuro Fiduciary Services Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control in the 75% to 100% band. 1 outstanding charge on the register.
Who owns Butlin's →
Haven Leisure Limited · 01968698Held by Bourne Leisure Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 7 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Haven →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Center Parcs | Butlin's | Haven |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered name | CENTER PARCS (OPERATING COMPANY) LIMITED | BUTLINS SKYLINE LIMITED | HAVEN LEISURE LIMITED |
| Company number | 04379585 | 04011665 | 01968698 |
| Incorporated | 2002 | 2000 | 1985 |
| Accounts filed | 18 July 2026 | 3 December 2025 | 11 September 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £526m | £293m | £899m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £109m | -£24m | £123m |
| Staff costs | £157m | £98m | £230m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 29.1% | 34.1% | 25.3% |
| Employees, prior year | 7,548 | 3,893 | 9,571 |
| Dividends paid | £68m | n/d | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 1 | 1 | 7 |
A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d; a zero in a filing is treated as not disclosed. Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, above that to the nearest million.
UK holiday parks: common questions
Who is the biggest of Center Parcs, Butlin's or Haven?
Haven, with turnover of £908m in the year to December 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
Haven: £128m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.
Which employs the most people?
Haven, with 10,111 employees in its latest accounts.
Center Parcs or Butlin's: which is bigger?
Center Parcs, with turnover of £540m against £288m at Butlin's on their latest filings. On margin, Center Parcs keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →
Center Parcs or Haven: which is bigger?
Haven, with turnover of £908m against £540m at Center Parcs on their latest filings. On margin, Center Parcs keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Butlin's or Haven: which is bigger?
Haven, with turnover of £908m against £288m at Butlin's on their latest filings. On margin, Haven keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Where do these figures come from?
Each company's latest accounts filed at Companies House. Each links to its full Spark Intel profile, which names the filing it comes from.
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