Looking for a glamping business for sale?

Whether you are thinking about setting up your own business or looking for a glamping business for sale, Fenn Wright can help offer guidance and advice.

Glamping has risen in popularity over the past few years, with a growing market supported by an increase in people choosing stay at home in the UK for their holidays. It was estimated that more than 17million camping and caravanning trips were taken by UK adults in 2017. (Mitel 2017).

For landowners, glamping has become a popular choice when looking to diversify. The lower capital investment compared with other forms of holiday accommodation, in particular log cabins, together with a higher return on investment are the main attractions for setting up a glamping site. Where combined with water or fishing, they can become an attractive and profitable lifestyle business.

Glamping units vary enormously and include; bell tents, timber pods, shepherds huts and yurts, all of which differ in size and specification and can be purchased or self-built. En-suite toilet/showers and kitchen areas are optional and power, heating and Wi-Fi can all be installed. Units offered with additional facilities such as a hot tub, fire pit or BBQ will achieve higher levels of occupancy. It is possible to achieve in excess of 70% occupancy, once the business is established and well marketed. Most landowners choose to phase the development, starting with one or two units and expanding as the business grows.

There are however a number of factors to consider, it can be difficult to identify a suitable site, which should be in a secluded yet accessible location; infrastructure costs can be significant; connection costs of services including mains electricity and water are often restricting factors to small scale developments, depending on their proximity. For sites in less accessible areas, solar power and boreholes should be considered. Good access roads and car parking will also be required and potentially a facilities building to house a toilet and shower block.

Any form of holiday accommodation involving a change of use will require planning permission, assuming it is used for more than 28 days per year. Obtaining permission largely depends on the local planning authority and the suitability of the site. Planning permission can be obtained for up to 12 months usage, though 9 and 11 month occupancy conditions are more common, usually with a restriction on the length of occupation per guest. It may be prudent to obtain preplanning advice to the local authority prior to submitting a full planning application.

The life expectancy of glamping units should be considered, with most units written off over a period of 10-15 years. Compare this with a standard specification log cabin, which may last between 20-25 years. Investment in a glamping site can increase the underlying capital value of a property and such sites are in demand, particularly from lifestyle buyers. The advantage over log cabins can be the lower risk associated to investing a smaller sum in a number of units.

The investment and capital value of a glamping site will be lower than a comparative log cabin site with the same number of units. As a result the value of the asset as a whole is kept within the budget of the average lifestyle buyer and therefore often more saleable. Properties with multiple log cabins are often taken into the £1-2m price bracket, which is currently part of the leisure market with fewer active buyers.

Fenn Wright regularly provide consultancy advice to landowners looking to diversify into holiday
accommodation. In particular, if you have planning permission for log cabins which have not yet been implemented, you may wish to consider amending the permission to glamping units.

Springwood Fisheries, pictured, was sold by Fenn Wright in 2017with a guide price of £475,000, comprising a fishery, café, 5 glamping pods and a camping and touring caravan site. The property generated strong interest from a number of potential buyers.

If you are thinking about buying, selling or setting up a glamping business – get in touch with our Water & Leisure team who can offer expert advice.