Holiday park refinance and equity release

When should you refinance a holiday park?

Most holiday park refinances are prompted by one of five events. The first is a bridge exit: a park bought with bridging finance, often because it was distressed, needed repositioning or had accounts that would not yet support a term loan, has to move onto a long-term park mortgage before the bridge term runs out. The second is a rate or facility expiry, where a fixed period ends, the loan reverts to a higher rate, or the facility approaches maturity and would need renewing anyway. The third is an EBITDA uplift: if pitch-fee income, holiday-home sales or hire fleet earnings have grown since you last borrowed, the park may now support a better rate, a larger loan or both. The fourth is portfolio consolidation, where an operator with several parks on separate loans brings them under one facility, or restructures after buying or selling a park. The fifth is releasing equity for expansion, whether new pitches, lodges or facilities on the same park or the deposit on the next acquisition.

In every case the question is whether a new facility delivers enough benefit to justify the cost of moving. Refinancing carries a new arrangement fee, valuation and legal costs, and sometimes an early repayment charge on the existing loan, so we model the all-in numbers and compare them honestly with the saving or the capital released. The wider rate environment matters too: according to the Bank of England, Bank Rate stands at 3.75 percent, last changed on 18 December 2025, and Christie and Co's Business Outlook 2026 predicts a rise in refinancing activity as base rates ease. Our guide to the holiday park lending market in 2026 covers the backdrop. We do not try to predict rate movements; the test is whether the refinance works on today's numbers. Figures are indicative and are not an offer of finance.

Refinancing out of a bridging loan

A bridge is designed to be temporary, and the most common exit is a refinance onto a term park mortgage. The lender taking out the bridge will want to see that the reason for bridging has been resolved: the works are complete, the licence or planning issue is settled, and the park is now trading at a level the accounts or management figures can evidence. Where the turnaround is recent, some lenders will lend on a shorter trading record supported by current management accounts and a credible forecast, while others want a full year or more of accounts under your ownership, so matching the park to the right lender matters.

The key is to plan the exit before drawing the bridge, and to start the refinance well before the bridge term ends, because valuation and legal work take time and a bridge that overruns becomes expensive quickly. Where we arranged the original bridge, we usually line up the likely exit lender at the same time. Where you already hold a bridge arranged elsewhere, we review the park's current position against what term lenders need and tell you plainly whether it is ready to refinance now or needs more trading history first. Our park bridging finance page sets out how bridging is structured. All figures are indicative and are not an offer of finance.

How much equity can I release from a park?

The amount you can release depends on the park's current going-concern value, its sustainable EBITDA and the loan to value a lender will support, typically in the region of 50 to 65 percent for a trading park. In simple terms, the new loan is sized against today's value and income, and the equity release is the difference between that new loan and the balance you still owe on the existing facility, less costs. So a park whose value and earnings have grown since you last borrowed can usually release a worthwhile sum, while one that has stood still has less to give. The strength of the income, the durability of the site licence and the tenure all influence how far a lender will stretch.

We start by estimating how a park valuer is likely to read the business today, then model the new loan and the cash it would free after repaying the existing debt and meeting costs. We are realistic about valuation, because an equity release built on an optimistic figure rarely survives the lender's own valuer. We also keep the resulting gearing sensible, since over-borrowing against a single good year leaves no headroom if trading dips. Where you hold several parks, we look at whether a partial release from one or two is cleaner than re-banking the whole portfolio. The figures we discuss are indicative, depend on the lender's valuation, and are not an offer of finance.

Can released equity fund a further acquisition?

Yes, and this is one of the most common reasons experienced operators release equity. A park that has grown in value holds capital that, once released, can provide the deposit and costs for the next acquisition, allowing a portfolio to grow without injecting fresh outside money. In practice we often arrange the equity release on the existing park alongside the acquisition mortgage on the new one, so the two facilities are coordinated and the overall gearing across the group is controlled. Because park lenders look favourably on a proven operator with a track record, using equity from a well-run park to buy another can be an efficient way to scale.

The discipline is to keep the combined borrowing serviceable and to avoid stretching one park too far to fund another. We model the income and debt service across both parks, and across the wider group if there is one, so the structure works in realistic trading years and not just the best one. We also make sure the security and guarantees on the release do not create a problem for the new acquisition lender, since a tangled charge structure can slow or block a deal. By planning the release and the purchase together, we keep the path to growth clean. For broader commercial acquisition funding our sister site Commercial Mortgages Broker may also help. We do not give financial advice, and all figures are indicative.

Refinancing onto a longer term

Extending the term is one of the most useful refinance tools and one of the least discussed. A park mortgage repaid over a short remaining term, or a facility with a large balloon payment falling due, can put heavy pressure on cash flow even when the park trades well. Refinancing the same balance over a longer term, where the lender will support it, spreads the capital repayments and lowers the monthly debt service, which frees cash for maintenance, hire fleet replacement or pitch improvements and gives more headroom if a season disappoints. Park mortgages are indicatively available over 15 to 25 years, depending on the lender, the park and the borrower.

The trade-off is that a longer term usually means paying more interest overall, so it suits operators who value cash flow and resilience over paying the debt down quickly. Lenders will look at the remaining length of the lease on a leasehold park, since the loan term normally needs to finish well inside it, and at the age and succession position of the principals on a family-run park. Some borrowers combine a longer term with a period of interest only while an expansion beds in. We model the monthly and total cost of each option side by side so you can choose with the full picture. We do not give financial advice, and figures are indicative.

How does refinance work across a multi-park portfolio?

A portfolio of parks gives more options but also more moving parts. You can refinance the whole portfolio onto a single facility with one lender, which can simplify administration and sometimes improve terms through scale, or you can keep the parks on separate facilities and release equity from one or two while leaving the rest untouched. The right approach depends on how the parks are owned, the spread of their values and incomes, the existing facilities and their exit costs, and your plans for each asset. Consolidation often follows growth: an operator who has bought parks one at a time, each with its own lender, can end up with several sets of covenants, reporting requirements and renewal dates, and bringing them together can simplify the group considerably. A single portfolio facility creates cross-collateralisation, where all the parks support the whole loan, which can be efficient but ties the assets together; separate facilities keep them independent but may price slightly higher individually.

We help you weigh these structures against your objectives, whether that is releasing maximum capital, keeping individual parks separable for a future sale, or simply securing the best overall cost. A partial release from a strong park within the portfolio is often the cleanest way to fund the next step without disturbing facilities that are already well priced. We model the gearing across the group so no single park carries an unsustainable load, and we coordinate the lenders so the moving parts complete together. We do not give financial, legal or tax advice and you should take your own professional view on structure. These figures are indicative and are not an offer of finance.

What will a lender want to see for a refinance?

A refinance is underwritten much like a new park mortgage, so lenders want the same core evidence, focused on the improved position. Expect to provide two or three years of trading accounts and current-year management accounts showing sustainable EBITDA, a breakdown of income by line (pitch fees, holiday-home sales and their margin, hire fleet, touring and camping, and bar, shop and other ancillary trade), the number of owner-occupied, hire fleet and vacant pitches with the pitch-fee schedule, and the current site licence and planning consent, including the permitted open season. On tenure they will want the title, and for a leasehold park the lease and its remaining term. They will also want the existing loan details, including the balance, the rate, the maturity date and any early repayment charge, so the benefit of moving can be assessed.

On the borrower side we provide the corporate structure, the principals' experience and assets and liabilities, and, where relevant, the wider portfolio, since lenders commonly take a first charge, a debenture and personal guarantees on a refinance just as on a purchase. Lenders pay particular attention to how much of the EBITDA comes from recurring pitch fees and how much from holiday-home sales, which swing with consumer confidence, and Savills' Holiday and Residential Park Update 2026 put pitch-fee income at around 30 percent of turnover in 2025 across the parks it reviewed. Where any security touches the borrower's own home, a regulated mortgage element can arise and we would refer that to an appropriately FCA-authorised firm. We assemble the pack so the lender can see the improved performance at a glance. We do not give advice, and all figures are indicative.

The holiday park refinance process and timeline

A park refinance follows a clear sequence. First we review the park's accounts, the existing facility and your objective, and tell you whether the refinance is likely to work and roughly what it could achieve. Next we approach the lenders that suit the park and the structure, and obtain indicative terms. Once you choose a lender and accept its terms, the lender instructs a specialist park valuer, who visits the site and values it as a trading business on its going-concern basis. The lender then completes its credit approval and issues a formal offer, solicitors on both sides carry out the legal work on title, the licence, planning and the security documents, and on completion the new lender repays the old one and any released equity is paid to you.

Timing depends mainly on how quickly the information is supplied, how long the valuation takes to book and report, and the complexity of the legal work, particularly on a leasehold park, a group structure or a portfolio. As an indicative guide, a straightforward single-park refinance is a matter of weeks rather than days, and a portfolio or a refinance with title or licence issues takes longer. That is why we encourage owners facing a bridge expiry or a facility maturity to start early, because running out of time is the most expensive way to refinance. Having accounts, the licence and the existing loan statement ready at the outset is the single biggest thing you can do to speed things up. Timescales are indicative and not guaranteed.

What does it cost to refinance a holiday park?

The costs of a park refinance fall into four groups. The new lender charges an arrangement fee, usually a percentage of the loan and often added to the borrowing. The lender's specialist valuer charges for the going-concern valuation, which is paid by the borrower whether or not the loan proceeds. Legal costs cover your own solicitor and, on most commercial loans, the lender's solicitor too. Finally, the existing lender may charge an early repayment charge if the loan is still in a fixed or tie-in period, plus any exit or redemption administration fee set out in the current facility.

None of these costs is fixed across the market, which is why we do not quote headline figures. They depend on the lender, the loan size, the complexity of the park and the terms of your existing facility. What matters is the all-in comparison: we set the total cost of moving against the saving over the new term or the value of the capital released, so you can see whether the refinance genuinely pays for itself. Sometimes the answer is to wait until an early repayment charge falls away. Figures are indicative and are not an offer of finance.