Annual Review 2008 - Center Parcs

One Edison Rise
New Ollerton
Newark
Notts
NG22 9DP
Tel: +44 (0)870 067 3000
www.centerparcs.co.uk
Annual
Review
2008

Since its inception in 1968, Center Parcs has always
aimed to create a tranquil place where families could
get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life
and get back to nature. This desire holds true today.
Contents
The Story so Far 04
Group Overview and
Key Performance Indicators 06
Chief Executive’s Review 08
Group Financial Review 10
Corporate Social Responsibility 12
Ownership and
Management Structure 16
Principal Risks and Uncertainties 20
Financial Risks 22

04
Our aim is to retain our position as the UK’s leading
short break operator through continual product
innovation and development to ensure that we
exceed our guests’ expectations.
05
The story so far...
n First village in the UK opened at Sherwood
Forest in 1987. Two more villages followed,
Elveden Forest in 1989 and Longleat Forest
in 1994. Whinfell Forest was subsequently
acquired in 2001.
n Acquired by Scottish & Newcastle in 1991
and then sold to Deutsche Bank Capital
Partners in 2001.
n Properties sold in 2002 and then the operating
business floated on AIM in 2003.
n Brought back under common ownership
in May 2006 when Blackstone purchased both
the property and operating businesses.
n Intensive capital investment program since
acquisition by Blackstone.
Our strategy
n To remain the leading short
break operator in the UK
n Continue to fund upgrading
of central facilities and
accommodation
n Move forward with the build
of a fifth village
n Generate a growth in profit
before tax and enhance
shareholder value
Year Occupancy Revenue Number of villas Number of
(April) % £’000 at period end visitors ‘000s
FY08 91.6* 263,275 3,380 1,506
FY07 94.3 254,138 3,301 1,509
FY06 93.1 238,610 3,301 1,485
FY05 92.4 229,644 3,290 1,453
FY04 93.3 214,858 3,195 1,372
*includes 837 villas off-line for upgrading
£51m investment on accommodation in 2008

06
The villages are set in forest surroundings –
typically 400 acres in size. Woodland, water
and a natural, healthy environment are the
essential elements.
07
Group
Overview
and Key
Performance
Indicators
The Center Parcs Business operates
four holiday villages in the UK:
n Whinfell Forest in Cumbria;
n Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire;
n Elveden Forest in Suffolk;
n Longleat Forest in Wiltshire.
The villages are set in forest surroundings –
typically 400 acres in size and provide high
quality accommodation in fully equipped
villas, apartments and lodges, which are set
amongst trees and streams. Each village
offers an extensive range of sports and
leisure activities plus numerous restaurants,
bars and retail outlets and a superb Aqua
Sana spa facility. Woodland, water and
a natural, healthy environment are the
essential elements.
The Operating Board and executive
management committee receive a range of
management information on a periodic basis.
The principal measures used to monitor the
progress and performance of the group are
listed below:
Physical occupancy
Physical occupancy is the average number
of villas occupied as a percentage of the
total number available. Physical occupancy
for the period was 91.6% (2007: 94.3%).
Occupancy has reduced from the prior year
due to the number of villas that were taken
off-line for upgrade. When off-line for
upgrade these villas are not excluded from
the occupancy calculations.
ADR (Average daily rate)
ADR is the average rent (including VAT)
achieved based on total gross rental
income divided by the total number of
villa nights sold.
ADR for the period was £151.76
(2007: £142.45).
The ADR has improved over the period
due to:
n the improved yield management achieved
with the functionality of the improved
yield system, and improved management
of peak capacity, and
n the increased amount of premium level
rent achieved from the new and upgraded
accommodation completed as part of the
accommodation expansion project.
RevPAV
RevPAV (rent-per available villa night) is the
average rent (including VAT) achieved based
on total gross rental income divided by the
total available number of villa nights.
RevPAV for the period was £139.01
(2007: £132.48).
RevPAV increases are due to the same
reasons as ADR. The increase is not as
marked as ADR due to the number of villas
off-line for refurbishment.
Forward bookings
Forward bookings at April 2008 represented
£73.3 million (2007: 67.2 million. This gives
the business good forward visibility of future
occupancy levels.
On-site spend per sleeper
On-site spend per sleeper is the average
non-accommodation spend per person per
day (including VAT).
As the Business has outsourced elements of
the food & beverage and retail offerings the
proportion of total on-parc spend received
by the Business has fallen. However the
Business continues to measure spend per
sleeper based on total spend including that
at outsourced units. This indicator for the
period was £26.90 (2007: £22.41).
Prompted brand awareness
Prompted brand awareness is strong at
98% (2007: 95%).
Guest satisfaction
We track guest satisfaction using
questionnaires completed by guests before
departure. 94% (2007: 95%) of respondents
rank the service at Center Parcs as excellent
or good.
Employee retention
The average labour turnover figure for the
Business during the period was 33.0%
(2007: 34.2%). A number of initiatives
designed to retain employees, including
those identified from our staff survey, have
been implemented during the period.

08
Never before has the Group undertaken
such a large capital investment programme
in such a short period of time. The end result
is a modernised product that continues to
exceed the high expectations of our guests.
09
Chief
Executive’s
Review
The financial period ended 17 April
2008 has been one of considerable
change for the business. New lodges
have been built, existing villas upgraded
to a higher standard and, for the first
time ever, we have allowed high street
brands onto the villages to operate
an element of our retail and food &
beverage offering. Never before has
the Group undertaken such a large
capital investment programme in such a
short period of time. The end result is a
modernised product that continues
to exceed the high expectations of
our guests.
Progress against
strategic objectives
During the period the Business
continued to make good progress on
our strategic objectives.
Existing villages
During the period under review the Business
has continued with a number of initiatives to
improve the guest experience:
n The contemporary design for the
upgrade of accommodation has been
applied to 837 villas (approximately one
quarter of the villa stock). The new design
has proved popular with guests and will
continue to be applied as part of the
ongoing upgrade programme.
n A total of 77 new executive lodges
were built during the period under review.
n During the year, beds and linen in all
accommodation have been replaced
and upgraded.
n The food & beverage offering on the
villages has changed considerably during
the period. We have partnered with Tragus
and SSP to outsource approximately
30% (by revenue) of the food & beverage
outlets. Previous Center Parcs operated
units have been replaced with recognisable
high street brands such as Strada, Bella
Italia, Café Rouge and Ortega. The
remaining Center Parcs’ restaurants have
been refurbished and upgraded together
with menu changes during the period. In
addition several new food & beverage
concepts have been opened, increasing the
range of offer.
n As an enhancement to the food & beverage
offering Starbucks coffee shops have
been introduced on all villages.
n We have also outsourced approximately
25% (by revenue) of the retail offer,
through a partnership with Nuance: in
addition to the existing retail offer this
partnership has created six new outlets.
n Guests are now able to pre-book their
leisure activities and make restaurant
bookings up to four months before they
are due to arrive. This has been made
possible by the introduction of an on-line
booking service for these activities.
Approximately 80% of pre-booked leisure
activities are now taken via the web.
Future prospects
The growth potential of the business
received a significant boost when planning
permission was granted for the fifth site in
Woburn in early September 2007.
Work is currently ongoing to obtain the
necessary permission to divert footpaths
that cross the proposed site. A public inquiry
on this issue is set for January 2009 and a
decision is expected in April 2009.
In what is currently a very challenging
economic environment we remain confident
that the Business is very well positioned to
achieve its strategic objectives due to the
unique nature of the Center Parcs concept.
Martin Dalby
Chief Executive Officer

During a period of significant change the Group has
produced an exceptional set of financial results,
continuing to deliver outstanding service whilst
major development work has been progressing.
10 11
The financial highlights of the year
n Revenue increased by 3.6% from £254 million
in 2007 to £263 million in 2008 (despite the
transfer of retail and food & beverage outlets
to 3rd party concessions).
n Accommodation revenues have increased
by 6.4%.
n EBITDA (excluding non recurring items)
increased by £15.5 million (16%) from £95.9
million to £111.4 million.
n Cash generated from operations of
£58.9 million.
Group
Financial
Review
During a period of significant
change the Group has produced an
exceptional set of financial results,
continuing to deliver outstanding
service whilst major development
work has been progressing.
The financial highlights shown
opposite are based on the underlying
management accounts of the Group
as no statutory entity exists which
consolidates all elements of
the business.
Statutory accounts of our UK entities
are filed at Companies House.
The revenue increase of 3.6% needs to be
considered in light of the changes that have
occurred during the year:
n Accommodation revenues increased by
6.4% to £144.4 million despite 837 villas
having been upgraded during the period
with each being off-line for up to 8 weeks.
Therefore significant displacement has
occurred during the period with estimated
lost revenue opportunities of £2.7 million.
n Part way through the year, the transfer
of approximately 30% of the food &
beverage offering and 25% of the retail
offering to concessions rather than owner
operated. As a result the Group recognises
as revenue only the rental received and not
the full revenue of those outlets.
Offsetting these factors has been the
improved yield from the newly built lodges
and the upgraded villas completed during
the period. These upgraded villas generate
a premium over the pre-upgraded villas of
approximately 20%.
The results have been prepared on a going
concern basis consistent with the view,
formed after reviewing the Group’s cash flow
forecasts and trading budgets and making
appropriate enquiries, that the Group is
operationally and financially robust and
will generate sufficient cash to meets its
borrowing requirements for the next
12 months.
Cash flow
During the period the net cash flow from
operations was £58.9 million. This period
has seen significant capital investment and
almost £80 million was spent on various
capital projects. This is above the normal
levels of capital expenditure expected and
this, together with interest payments of
£68.2 million, has resulted in cash balances
during the period reducing by £37.0 million
to £39.1 million at the balance sheet date.
However, the underlying business remains
highly cash generative.
Bank borrowings
At the balance sheet date bank borrowings
were £1,036 million the same level as the
previous year. During the period £750
million of the debt was securitised by the
original lenders resulting in a reduction
in the interest cost to the business of
approximately £2.7 million per annum.
Center Parcs’ bank borrowings are available
under a facilities agreement which was put
in place in December 2006. The facilities
agreement requires the repayment of
the loan in October 2011. The facilities
agreement also requires Center Parcs to
comply with certain financial measures,
mainly the maintenance of certain minimum
ratios of EBITDA to debt.
The facilities agreement is secured by a
fixed and floating charge over certain of the
group’s assets.
n Capital investment of £79.2 million during the
period on new executive lodges, upgrading of
existing villas, rebranding and upgrading of the
retail and food & beverage offering and
on-line booking service for leisure activities.
Offsetting the debt at 17 April 2008 the
Group held cash and bank balances totalling
£39.1 million.
n Cash in hand and at bank of £39.1 million
at balance sheet date.

12
We seek to minimise our environmental
impact in many ways – through encouraging
water conservation, tackling climate
change and reducing waste.
13
Corporate
Social
Responsibility
Since its inception in 1968, Center
Parcs has always aimed to create a
tranquil place where families could
get away from the hustle and bustle of
everyday life and get back to nature.
This desire holds true today.
Our villages are built deep within
the forest, enabling our guests to
enjoy acres of unspoilt woodland
where they can interact directly with
nature. This close link with the natural
environment means we have always
been committed to the protection of our
surroundings. But our responsibilities
go far beyond this. We seek to minimise
our environmental impact in many
ways – through encouraging water
conservation, tackling climate change
and reducing waste. We are also
committed to our social responsibilities
– to our customers, our employees and
the communities where we operate.
The environment
The Center Parcs experience is built around
enabling our guests to enjoy the natural
environment. It therefore makes sense for
us to protect it. We felt it was essential
to identify where we had the biggest
environmental impact and to focus on
making our footprint in these areas as small
as possible. We identified three areas in
which we needed to reduce our footprint: our
energy use, our waste production and our
water use.
We looked at how our villages and transport
fleet use energy – we made improving
energy efficiency and reducing fuel our
first priority. We identified that our guests
and the business use significant levels of
other resources – our second priority was
to further increase recycling and reduce
waste levels. Finally we aimed to reduce the
quantities of water we use; especially in our
sub-tropical swimming paradises.
We’re extremely pleased to report that
we’ve made progress in all our priority areas,
though we still have work to do. As part
of our recent villa upgrade programme we
installed a range of environmentally efficient
technology. This included water saving
devices, energy efficient light bulbs and
intelligent thermostats. Across our villages
we’ve also updated our building energy
management systems, installed energy
meters and implemented variable speed
water pumps in two of our villages. We are
pleased with the results – together these
measures have reduced our energy usage by
approximately 13% and our water usage by
approximately 14%.
Reducing our reliance on landfill remains a
key priority for Center Parcs and we have
made significant advances in this respect
over the past 12 months. New recycling
facilities, infrastructure and processes
have been introduced meaning that we now
recycle more items than ever. Guests are
encouraged to recycle during their holiday
through the presence of recycling points
across each village. Large amounts of
surplus furniture and other equipment were
generated when we undertook our recent
villa upgrading programme, the majority of
which was donated to charities within the
local community around each village. In the
last year we have also replaced our entire
bike fleet, with a large proportion of old
bikes being sent away to be refurbished and
distributed to charities around the world.
We have set ourselves challenging recycling
targets for 2009, we hope to achieve this
by increasing the number of waste items we
are able to recycle and, wherever possible,
sourcing new products that are recyclable.
As a result of these, and many other
measures, we have recently been
reaccredited with IS014001 for our
environmental management system.
Making a number of changes to our transport
policy has also resulted in significant energy
savings. We replaced 25% of our village
vehicle fleet with electric vans and all of our
existing diesel engine fleet with efficient
E4 rated engines. We also encourage video
conferencing where possible and provide
incentives for our staff to car share. Overall
these measures resulted in an impressive
8.5% year on year reduction in CO2
emissions equating to a reduction of 176.25
tonnes of CO2.

14
We are proud of our employees and each year
our Star Performers programme rewards the
top contributors to the business from each
village and from Head Office.
15
The family
Family groups are our number one customer
and what matters to them, matters to us.
Families are finding it harder and harder to
spend quality time together; we know this
because they’ve told us. But we also know
that the desire to be together is strong. It is
therefore in our interest to create a place
that promotes group activities and shared
living, and enables the family to enjoy quality
time together. We’ve actively delivered
a number of initiatives that promote a
healthy, inclusive family holiday, in a safe and
welcoming environment. We are also proud
to have also been awarded the Tommy’s
Campaign ‘Best UK Holiday Provider’ for five
years running.
Our holidays are built around physical
activity. We offer a wide range of different
indoor and outdoor activities and sports to
our guests, and encourage them to cycle,
by offering a safe, car-free environment
to learn and develop in. We also make sure
that we offer healthy food options in our
supermarkets and restaurants.
We’ve designed our open plan villas and
lodges and BBQ areas with the family in mind.
We also care about our guests’ safety and
feel that by restricting the levels of traffic
and keeping the villages enclosed we have
created a secure environment.
We are also committed to supporting less
fortunate families. During the period we
donated Center Parcs breaks to charities
supporting terminally ill children. We also
hosted sponsored bike rides and Sport Relief
Miles raising further money for charity.
Local communities
We have an extremely close relationship with
the communities surrounding our villages.
We provide employment and source services
and products locally. We believe that overall
our impact on the local area is positive – and
we want to keep it this way. We’re therefore
doing a number of things to support and
develop our local communities.
We’re significant local employers; with
each village employing in excess of 1,500
staff, the majority of whom come from the
local area. We also support our local staff
by running a commuter bus service at all
of our sites which is used by over 2,000
employees. As well as offering a low-cost
and energy efficient transport method it
reduces congestion on the local roads. We
also support the local community by sourcing
local services and produce where possible.
We’ve also delivered a number of initiatives
that benefit our local communities. Our
villages support local schools through
donations, work experience and skills
development. In addition to this our
employees donated £14,270 last year to
local charities through our employee
payroll fund.
Our employees
Our employees are critical to our success.
They directly interact with our guests
and make sure they enjoy their stay with
us, and come back again. We employ over
6000 individuals and naturally understand
the importance of delivering initiatives
that support, develop and reward all our
employees, whatever their position in
the company.
Center Parcs is recognised by Investors in
People, and we encourage our employees
to develop their skills and we reward them
when they are successful. We recently
launched our NVQ academy and over 150
employees are currently working towards
the qualification. We also offer a ‘Manager In
Training’ programme to encourage individuals
to progress within the business – this has
resulted in numerous success stories.
We are proud of our employees and each year
our Star Performers programme rewards the
top contributors to the business from each
village and from Head Office. The winners
receive a range of benefits including £1000
worth of non-Center Parcs holiday vouchers.
We believe that all employees should be
treated equally and offer the same benefits
to all – including a profit sharing scheme, a
pension into which we contribute up to 9%,
discounted holidays, use of our facilities and
a Christmas hamper.
Our dedication to our people has resulted in
a committed workforce. Our annual employee
turnover is below the leisure industry
average, 30% of our employees have been
with us for three years or more and our
diversity levels reflect the local population.
We reward employees for their commitment
and loyalty with enhanced benefits packages
after 2, 5 and 10 years service. In 2008
we launched our ‘Community Heroes’
programme, which will congratulate and
reward employees for the good work they
do in their local communities.

The UK operation is managed by its
Operating Board, consisting of Blackstone
representatives and advisors together with
three executive members.
16 17
Ownership and
Management
Structure
The Group is ultimately owned by
investment funds controlled by The
Blackstone Group. The ownership split
is as shown in the table below.
Funds controlled by
The Blackstone Group 92.4%
Funds controlled by
The Royal Bank Scotland PLC 5.9%
Management 1.7%
The UK operation is managed by
its Operating Board, consisting of
Blackstone representatives and
advisors together with three
executive members.
Day to day operations of the Center
Parcs business are the responsibility
of the executive management
committee which is made up of the
three executive members and five
members of senior management.
Biographies of the Operating
Board and Senior Management are
set out opposite:
Board of Directors
Martin Dalby
Chief Executive Officer
Martin joined Scottish and Newcastle in
1978 where he held various accounting
positions before joining Center Parcs UK in
January 1995 as Financial Controller. In 1997
Martin became Finance Director of Center
Parcs UK and in July 2000 was promoted
to the position of CEO. Martin has led the
UK team through the change of company
ownership from Scottish and Newcastle to
Deutsche Bank Capital Partners (subsequently
MidOcean Partners) as well as the acquisition
and integration of Oasis Whinfell Forest.
Martin led the float of the business onto
AIM in December 2003, the transition to the
London Stock Exchange’s main list on 1 March
2005 and the subsequent purchase by the
Blackstone Group.
Malcolm France
Finance and IT Director
Malcolm spent 8 years in the Lloyds Insurance
Market with Sturge Holdings PLC, the largest
agency in the Market, leaving as the Financial
and Management Accountant.
In April 1996 Malcolm joined the Savoy Group
PLC as Group Accountant during a period
of significant change, culminating in the
acquisition of The Savoy by The Blackstone
Group in 1998. Malcolm was appointed
Finance Director in 1999 and was closely
involved in the restructuring of the business
as well as executing the sale of the Group to
Quinlan in 2004, remaining as Finance Director
until 2006.
In August 2006 Malcolm joined Center Parcs
as Finance and IT Director shortly after it was
acquired by the Blackstone Group.
Malcolm graduated from Manchester
University in 1981 (BA Hons Economics) and is
CIMA and ICSA qualified.
Martin Robinson
Chairman
Martin was a management consultant
at McKinsey & Co in both Chicago and
London before joining S&N Retail in 1994
as Commercial Director. Prior to this he
worked for Reckitt & Coleman and Sara
Lee Corporation. He joined Center Parcs as
Managing Director of its European business in
October 1997 and was appointed as Chairman
of the Board of Management of the Center
Parcs Group in November 1999. He led the
management buy-out of Center Parcs by
Deutsche Bank Capital Partners in 2001 and,
following the split of the European and UK
businesses, was appointed Chairman of both.
He left Center Parcs Europe in July 2004 and is
currently Chairman of Center Parcs UK. He is
also a non-executive director of Regus plc and
EuroDisney SCA.
Joseph Baratta
Joseph Baratta is a Senior Managing Director
in the Corporate Private Equity group of
Blackstone, based in London. Since joing
Blackstone in 1998, Mr Baratta has been
involved in the execution of Blackstone’s
investments in Livewire, Republic Technologies
International, Universal Orlando, Houghton
Mifflin, Merlin Entertainments Group/
Legoland, Nycomed Pharmaceuticals, Spirit
Group, Southern Cross, NHP, Tragus and
Center Parcs. Before joining Blackstone
Mr Baratta was with Tinicum Incorporated, and
McCown De Leeuw & Company. Mr Baratta
also worked at Morgan Stanley in its Mergers
and Acquisitions department. Mr Baratta
graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown
University. He serves as a director of Merlin
Entertainments Group and Tragus Group as
well as Center Parcs.

18
Day to day operations of the Center Parcs
business are the responsibility of the
executive management committee which
is made up of the three executive members
and five members of senior management.
19
Chad Pike
Chad Pike is a Senior Managing Director and
Co-Head of the Blackstone Real Estate Group.
Mr Pike is based in London and is responsible
for the day-to-day management of the group’s
investment activities and personnel in Europe
and Asia. Since joining Blackstone in 1995,
Mr Pike has led the acquisition of over $15
billion of assets in the United States, Europe
and Asia. Significant purchases include
the Deutsche Bank Office portfolio, WCM
Residential portfolio, Center Parcs and NHP/
Southern Cross. Before joining Blackstone,
Mr Pike was with the Morgan Stanley Real
Estate Fund, where he was involved in the
purchase of non-performing loan portfolios
and real estate operating companies. Mr Pike
received a BA in History from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he
graduated with honours.
William Stein
William Stein is a Senior Managing Director
in the Real Estate Group of Blackstone. Since
joining Blackstone in 1997, Mr Stein has been
involved in the asset management of a number
of real estate investments including The Savoy
Hotel, Homestead Studio Suites, Extended
Stay America, M. D. Hodges Industrial
Portfolio, Boca Resorts, Prime Hospitality,
Wyndham International and various other
hotel, office and multifamily investments.
Before joining Blackstone Mr Stein was a vice
president at Heitman Real Estate advisors,
where he was involved in asset management
of office, industrial, retail and multifamily
investments. Mr Stein received a BBA from
the University of Michigan and a MBA from the
University of Chicago.
Andrew Katz
Andrew Katz is Managing Director and Head of
Operations for Axios Hospitality Real Estate,
the platform for hospitality investments
owned by funds controlled by The Blackstone
Group. Prior to joining Axios Hospitality Real
Estate, Andrew had spent 5 years as Senior
Vice President of Real Estate for Starwood
Hotels and Resorts worldwide. Andrew was
responsible for real estate issues, capital
planning and renovation. In previous roles
Andrew had been Senior Vice President of
Asset Management for Wyndham International
and Interstate Hotels. Andrew began his
career in operations at the Waldorf-Astoria in
New York City and has had various operations
management positions during his career.
John Ceriale
John Ceriale is Founder and President of
Prospect Advisors, the exclusive hotel
advisor to Blackstone Real Estate Advisors
(BREA). Since creating Prospect Advisors
in 1998, Ceriale has been responsible for
the management and overseeing of BREA’s
numerous hotel investments, which are
located across the U.S., the Caribbean and
Europe. Before founding Prospect Advisors
in 1998, Mr. Ceriale was the Senior Vice
President of Operations for Westin Hotels and
Resorts North America, where he oversaw the
operations of 60 hotels.
Prior to Westin, he spent four years at
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts as Executive
Vice President of Operations. From 1980 to
1991, Mr. Ceriale acted as General Manager
for several of Mariott Hotels and Resort’s
finest properties, including the company’s two
largest resorts.
Mr. Ceriale graduated from Loyola College in
Baltimore with a Bachelor of Arts in Political
Science and received a Bachelor of Science
degree in Hotel Management from the
University of Nevada Hotel School.
John Boettger
John Boettger is a Managing Director and
the head of asset and portfolio management
for Axios Hospitality Real Estate. John
joined Axios Hospitality Real Estate from
Alcor Acquisitions, LLC. At Alcor John was
responsible for the oversight of a portfolio
of lodging assets that includes properties
operating under the Sheraton, Hilton, Ritz-
Carlton and Marriott brands. Previously, John
spent six years with Host Hotels & Resorts.
At Host he directed a team of professionals
responsible for actively overseeing a
geographically diverse portfolio of over 200
extended stay and select-service hotels
operating under the Courtyard, Residence
Inn and Fairfield Inn brands. John was also
responsible for the active oversight of a
portfolio of as many as 15 full-service hotels.
John holds an associate in science degree
in culinary arts from Johnson and Wales
University, a Bachelor of Science degree
in hospitality management from Florida
International University and a master of
business administration in finance and
investments from The George
Washington University.
Senior management
Judi Leavor
HR Director
Judi joined Center Parcs at its inception in
the UK in November 1985 and was promoted
through a number of personnel roles before
being appointed to her current position of
Human Resources Director in March 2002.
Colin Whaley
Sales and Marketing Director
Colin joined British Airways in 1987, gaining
broad experience in a number of departments
before being appointed as Head of Sales and
Marketing with BA Holidays in June 1998.
Following the acquisition of BA Holidays by
Thomas Cook Holidays he headed up Sales
and Marketing for the newly merged company
for a year and then rejoined British Airways in
June 2002 to take up the position of Marketing
Director at Travelbag Limited. After this
business was acquired by ebookers, Colin was
promoted to Marketing Director of ebookers
(UK). He joined Center Parcs in November
2004 as Sales & Marketing Director.
Don Camilleri
Development Director
Don graduated as a civil engineer and held
a number of senior engineering positions in
the UK and overseas. While at Ove Arup and
Partners he was the senior engineer on the
building of Center Parcs Sherwood Forest.
In 1986, Don was appointed as Director of
Development and Engineering for Center
Parcs UK and has since been responsible
for all development projects including the
construction of Elveden Forest in 1989; the
construction of Longleat Forest in 1994 and
the reconstruction of Elveden Forest after
the fire in 2002. Don is a Chartered Engineer
and member of the Institution of Structural
Engineers as well as a member of the
European Federation of National
Engineering Association.
Graham White
Operations Director
Graham joined Center Parcs in 1989 as Food
& Beverage Manager at Elveden Forest having
previously been a General Manager of Sodexho
and the proprietor of The Malbank Hotel in
Cheshire. Graham was promoted to Deputy
General Manager for Elveden Forest followed
by General Manager for Sherwood Forest and
UK Operations Manager, before becoming UK
Operations Director in September 2000.
Paul Kent
Commercial Director
Paul started his career in retail management
with Safeway plc and joined Center Parcs
in 1987, when the first holiday village was
established in the UK. During his career with
Center Parcs UK, Paul has held a variety of
roles with responsibility for Retail, Leisure
and Food & Beverage before moving to the
position of General Manager of Sherwood
Forest and then taking up the UK Operations
Manager role in 2002. In January 2004 Paul
was appointed to the position of
Commercial Director.

This Risk Committee meets quarterly to oversee
risk management arrangements and ensure
appropriate processes are put in place to
mitigate potential risks and uncertainties.
20 21
Principal
Risks and
Uncertainties
There are a number of potential risks
and uncertainties which could have
a material impact on Center Parcs’
performance and execution of its
growth strategy.
The executive management committee
adopts a proactive approach to the
management of such risks and are
actively involved in the Group’s Risk
Committee. In addition to ongoing
monitoring this Risk Committee meets
quarterly to oversee risk management
arrangements and ensure appropriate
processes are put in place to mitigate
potential risks and uncertainties. These
risks include, but are not limited to:
Operational
Risk Factors
Business Continuity
Center Parcs operates four holiday
villages in the UK with the consequence
that a significant interruption of any
one could have a material impact on the
Group. As a result, the Risk Committee
supervises comprehensive risk management
arrangements including business continuity
plans which are regularly tested with the
support of external specialists. These
arrangements are supported by a broad
insurance programme.
Supply chain
Center Parcs has a large number of suppliers
and prides itself on the quality of its product.
The Group could be adversely affected by
a fall in the standard of goods and services
supplied by third parties or by a failure of a
key partner. Quality risks are mitigated via
a robust supplier registration system with
food and safety further supported by
independent advisors. In addition the
Risk Committee considers supply chain
contingency arrangements and make
appropriate arrangements.
Employees
Center Parcs’ performance largely depends
on its managers and staff, both on the
villages and at head office. The resignation of
key individuals or the inability to recruit staff
with the right experience and skills could
adversely impact the Group’s results. To
mitigate these issues the group has invested
in training programmes for its staff and has
a number of bonus schemes linked to the
group’s results and individual performance
that are designed to reward and retain
key individuals.
Input price increases
The Group’s margin can be adversely
affected by an increase in the price of key
raw materials including wages, overheads
and utilities.
Brand risk
The Center Parcs brand could be adversely
affected by a serious incident, accident or
similar occurrence or just a slow decline in
the brand’s appeal to consumers. The
group mitigates the risk of a serious
incident, accident or similar by maintaining
industry-leading health and safety
systems and standards of training. The
risk of a slow decline in the brand’s appeal
is managed through continuous product
innovation, marketing campaigns and
brand development.
Fraud
Center Parcs operates four sites across the
UK. Risk of fraud exists in misappropriation
of assets, including banking, theft of
stock and theft of cash takings. The Group
mitigates this risk through management
structure and regular financial review with,
and extensive use of, business systems.
Regular external audits are also carried out
on the Group.
Market
Risk Factors
General economic conditions
The disposable income of our guests and
their holiday preferences area and will be
affected by changes in the general economic
environment. Center Parcs regularly reviews
its product offering and engages with guests
to ensure it provides value for money to meet
guest needs.
Refinancing Risk
The Group has no short term refinancing risk
as its principal borrowing facility matures in
October 2011. However, failure to repay or
refinance this facility prior to this time would
require the Group to re-negotiate the facility
with the lenders or to raise additional funds
from the shareholders. This risk is mitigated
by the strong operating performance of
the Group which we believe will enable
appropriate financing to be arranged as and
when required.

22
Center Parcs does not use complicated
financial instruments and where financial
instruments are used they are used for
reducing interest rate risk.
23
Financial
Risks
The Operating Board regularly review
the financial requirements of the Group
and the risks associated therewith.
Center Parcs does not use complicated
financial instruments and where
financial instruments are used they
are used for reducing interest rate
risk. The Group does not use financial
instruments for trading purposes.
Group operations are primarily
financed from retained earnings and
bank loans. In addition to the primary
financial instruments, the Group has
other financial instruments such as
debtors, prepayments, trade creditors
and accruals that directly arise from
the Group’s operation. The three key
financial risks are:
Interest Rate Risk
Center Parcs’ interest rate risk arises from
long term borrowings. Bank borrowings are
denominated in Sterling and are borrowed
at floating interest rates. The Group utilises
interest swaps and caps to fix an element of
its cost of borrowing.
Liquidity Risk
Cash forecasts identifying the Group’s
liquidity requirements are produced
frequently and are regularly reviewed to
ensure that sufficient headroom is in place
for the Group to meet its debt service and
other financial obligations for at least a
12 month period.
Foreign Currency Risk
Whilst no borrowings are denominated in
foreign currencies, a number of suppliers are
exposed to the Euro and American Dollar.
Accordingly, wherever possible the Group
undertakes supply contracts denominated
in Sterling. Center Parcs has reviewed its
exposure to foreign currency risk and has
concluded not to hedge any foreign
currency risk.