Holiday park operator expands its digital operation in Leeds with the creation of new jobs
The UK’s leading holiday park operator, Parkdean Resorts, has chosen Leeds to rapidly expand its digital and IT team, having been impressed with the pool of talent within the city.
Parkdean Resorts owns 67 award-winning holiday parks across 3,500 acres of land and welcomes more than three million holidaymakers each year. Its 31,000 pitches include a variety of accommodation options, including static caravans, luxury lodges and glamping, as well as touring and camping.
The digital team encompasses all its customer-facing touchpoints, systems, and processes in one place.
Parkdean Resorts first established a presence for its digital team in Leeds at the end of 2019 operating from a 12-person serviced office suite in Platform, the city’s home for tech and digital, next to the station.
The company has now embarked on an ambitious recruitment campaign to quickly grow the team to 40 following the increased demand for its parks from holidaymakers, as the rise in popularity of staycations continues to grow.
To accommodate the expansion, commercial property agent, Fox Lloyd Jones has negotiated a traditional lease for 2,276 square foot workspace, which is also within Platform, ahead of the move later this month.
Heading up the new office will be Claire Macnair, who recently joined Parkdean Resorts as Head of Digital Transformation after more than 14 years at Bupa, where she most recently served as Head of Digital Transformation for Bupa Global.
Catherine Lynn, Chief Customer Officer at Parkdean Resorts, said, “Leeds is a hotbed of digital talent, and since opening in the city we’ve been delighted with the calibre of people we’ve been able to attract, offering different perspectives and adding value to our growing team.
'This new office, in Platform, is a sign of our long-term commitment to the city and we look forward to growing both our digital and IT teams under Claire’s stewardship.”
Claire Macnair added, “The opportunity to establish a new digital capability here in Leeds was just too good to pass on, and there’s a really exciting energy building ahead of our move into our space at Platform later this month.
'In a competitive market, not only can we offer candidates the chance to design and build solutions Parkdean’s customers will love, work in hybrid patterns and learn from talented new colleagues but we’ve got unbeatable access and views across the city.”
Commenting on the new office, Property Director at Parkdean Resorts, David Lodge, added, “When we moved into Leeds, Fox Lloyd Jones recommended a serviced office within Platform, as it not only enabled us to establish our presence in the short term, but it also provided up to the minute technology to support the digital and IT teams.
'In addition, being right next to the rail station provided easy accessibility to help attract an experienced team.
“When we needed to increase our workspace, to handle the increased number of holiday bookings, we were delighted Fox Lloyd Jones was able to negotiate larger offices, within Platform, on a more permanent basis.”
Senior Surveyor at Fox Lloyd Jones, Harry Finney, added, “We are delighted to have again represented Parkdean in acquiring further workspace at Platform, following the successful acquisition of serviced accommodation in the building in 2019.
“We are pleased our recommendation has enabled them to expand and bring further jobs to the city. The deal demonstrates Leeds remains a highly desirable City for a digital hub and is further evidence of a flight to quality in the Leeds office market.”