Pontins Timeline Back

1906

Fred Pontin is born

1946

Fred Pontin forms a company to purchase his first holiday camp at Brean Sands for £23,000 followed a few weeks later by a second at Osmington Bay. The first years profit is a healthy £17,000 and the company is floated on the London Stock Exchange.

1947

Four more camps are added: Bracklesham Bay, Buckleigh Place, Sand Bay & South Devon

1948

Fred Pontin buys the Trabolgan camp

c1957

Fred Pontin buys Barton Hall but it's not transferred to Pontins Ltd until the early 1960s

1958

Pakefield is purchased

1961

The Squires Gate camp in Blackpool is purchased for £375,000

St Marys Bay is purchased

Plemont Bay is purchased for £375,000

Wall Park is purchased

1962

Broadreeds is purchased

Wick Ferry opens and becomes the first all self-catering camp

1963

The Pineta Beach Hotel opens in Sardinia

Buckleigh Place is sold but remains open as a holiday centre until the 1980s

1964

The Cala Mesquida Resort opens in Majorca

The S'Agamassa Hotel opens in Ibiza

Middleton Tower is purchased

1968

Camber Sands opens

1969

Southport opens at a cost of £2.5 million

1970

Hotel Pontinental opens in Torremolinos, Spain

1971

Prestatyn opens

Hemsby opens

St Marys Bay and Homelea merge

Fred Pontin's horse 'Specify' wins the Grand National

1972

Pontins acquires 6 new Pontinental sites through purchase of S.A. Holiday Club of Belgium

1973

Pontins stage the first Brass Band Championship

1976

Fred Pontin is knighted

Pontins sign a 3-year deal to sponsor the FA Charity Shield match

Middleton Tower hosts the Miss Great Britain final

c1977

Tower Beach is purchased

1978

Pontins is sold to Coral Leisure for £56 million

1979

Pontins gets planning approval for new camp on Isle of Man. Plans later scrapped

1980

Coral Leisure (which included Pontins) is sold to brewing giant Bass

1984

Two camps purchased from Godfrey Davis: South Downs and Torbay Chalet Hotel

Tower Beach is closed and later demolished

1985

Bracklesham Bay is sold

1987

Pontins is sold to a management buyout team led by Trevor Hemmings for £57 million

1988

Broadreeds is sold and later demolished

South Devon is sold and later demolished

1989

Pontins is sold to Scottish & Newcastle for £61 million

1990

Trabolgan is bought back after earlier being sold

1991

Major fire at the Dolphin camp - not rebuilt and is now sitting derelict

1994

Middleton Tower is closed and now sits disused and semi-derelict

Little Canada is sold but remains open as a children's activity centre

1995

Pontins begin a 3-year £55 million modernisation programme

Wick Ferry is sold and later demolished

Torbay Chalet Hotel is sold and later demolished

St Marys Bay is sold but remains open

1997

Seacroft is sold but remains open

1998

Pontins reports a loss of £1.5 million

Blackpool receives new 1,000 seat cabaret bar along with many other improvements

1999

Barton Hall is sold but remains open as a children's activity centre

Sand Bay is sold and remains open

Riviera Chalet Hotel is sold and remains open

Osmington Bay is sold but remains open as a children's activity centre

2000

Sir Fred Pontin dies aged 93

Pontins is sold back to Trevor Hemmings

The two Jersey camps at Plemont Bay and Portelet Bay are closed. Both now disused and semi-derelict.

Trabolgan is sold but remains open