Butlin’s is currently owned by the Harris family, via the Harris Family Trusts, which bought the business back from Blackstone and Bourne Leisure in a deal worth about £300 million.

Who owns Butlin’s now?

  • The Harris family (founders of Bourne Leisure) own Butlin’s through a newly formed company backed by the Harris Family Trusts.
  • They previously owned Butlin’s for about two decades before selling Bourne Leisure (including Butlin’s) to Blackstone in 2021, then bought Butlin’s back in 2022 in a carve‑out deal.
  • The deal separated the operating business from most of the property, which had been sold earlier to the Universities Superannuation Scheme, a large UK pension fund.

Quick timeline

  1. 2000s–2020: Butlin’s operated under Bourne Leisure, owned by the Harris, Cook and Allen families.
  1. Jan 2021: Blackstone acquired Bourne Leisure (including Butlin’s), with the founding families keeping a minority stake.
  1. July 2022: The Butlin’s property portfolio was sold to the Universities Superannuation Scheme for about £300m.
  1. Sept 2022: The Harris family trusts bought back the Butlin’s operating business for around £300m, becoming the new owners again.

At a glance (ownership vs property)

[3][7][1] [1] [9][7]
Aspect Who is involved? What they own/do
Brand & operations Harris family / Harris Family Trusts Own and run the Butlin’s holiday business and resorts.
Resort properties Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) Owns much of the underlying Butlin’s real estate, leased back to the business.
Former majority owner Blackstone & Bourne Leisure Bought Bourne Leisure in 2021, then later sold Butlin’s to the Harris-backed company.

TL;DR

If you’re asking “who owns Butlin’s” right now, it’s the Harris family (via their trusts and holding company), with a separate pension fund owning much of the physical resort sites.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.