Builder paid £4.6m for Camelot
THE construction group that bought the Lancashire theme park Camelot paid £4.6m for the site.
The figure has emerged in a report to creditors of Prime Resorts, Camelot’s previous owner that went into receviership in February with debts of £15.5m.
Carlisle-based Story Construction stepped in for the park and associated land in March weeks after Camelot’s 140-bed hotel was sold to the Lavender Hotel Group for £2m.
Prime Resorts attempted to sell the site to a national housebuilder last year and Story has made no secret of its plans to use the land for a residential mixed-use development.
It is now in talks with Chorley Borough Council, but in the meantime it has spent the £400,000 required to maintain the rides and leased the theme park to Knights Leisure, a new company led by Roy Page.
Around 150 people have been recruited for the re-opening of the theme park on Saturday May 23.
Prime Resorts’ receivers Grant Thornton said the business got into trouble after trading was hit in recent years by poor weather and declining theme park admissions.
Pre-tax losses widened from £933,000 in 2007 to £1.9m in the year to January 2009. According to the report the directors attempted to arrange a pre-packaged insolvency. This plan failed in January and the receivers were called in.
Prime Resorts failed owing the Bank of Scotland £5.2m. Unsecured trade creditors, who are unexpected to see a return, were owed nearly £1m.
