Camelot Theme Park in receivership

CAMELOT Theme Park, owned by Prime Resorts, has been placed into receivership, with the immediate loss of 29 jobs.

Les Ross and Malcolm Shierson, of accountancy firm Grant Thornton, have been appointed joint receivers of the theme park and Park Hall Hotel, based in Charnock Richard, near Chorley.

The theme park, which employed 21 permanent staff during the winter months, was due to open on April 4.

The 140-room hotel, which employs around 80 people, will continue to trade as normal while a buyer is sought.

Last month, Prime Resorts announced 18 staff had been laid off at the hotel. A further 29 redundancies have been announced across both businesses since it went into receivership.

Proposals to potentially transform the complex into a mixed-use development with residential, retail and leisure facilities are ongoing. The receivers said they were optimistic about finding a buyer for the hotel.

Les Ross, a partner in Grant Thornton’s Manchester office, said: “Camelot Theme Park has struggled for a number of years to compete with larger attractions such as Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Alton Towers.

“Visitor numbers had been in decline at the park, which only operated for 20 weeks out of the year.

“The hotel had an extremely busy Christmas and New Year and also has very healthy bookings for functions and short leisure breaks. However, it has suffered a significant reduction in corporate bookings due to the economic downturn.”