Haven took control of Seal Bay Resort on 15 September, filings show. It keeps its name for 2026, then becomes Haven's 40th park. What bookers and owners need.

Seal Bay Resort in Selsey is changing hands. It will become a Haven park from the 2027 season.

Haven announced the deal on Thursday 24 September. In its press release, it says Seal Bay “has been acquired by Blackstone”, the private equity firm that has owned Haven since 2021. Seal Bay becomes Haven’s 40th holiday park. The release does not give a price.

Seal Bay is on Warners Lane in Selsey, about seven miles south of Chichester. Haven puts it at more than 2,500 pitches.

When Haven acquired Seal Bay Resort: what the filings show

Haven’s announcement came on 24 September, but the Companies House record for White Horse Caravan Company Limited, the company that trades as Seal Bay Resort, shows the deal changing hands nine days earlier:

  • 15 September 2026: Haven chief executive Simon Palethorpe and Jamila Sythes are appointed directors; the two previous directors, Darren Scutter and Fleur Hobbs, step down. A new charge over the company is created the same day.
  • 16 September 2026: the registered office moves from a London company-services address to No. 1 Park Lane, Hemel Hempstead, which is Haven’s head office (it is the registered address of Bourne Leisure, Haven’s parent company).
  • 21 September 2026: four charges from the previous ownership are marked satisfied in full.

The company has run the park on Warners Lane since well before the Cove era: it was incorporated in January 1981. Neither the filings nor Haven’s release give a price. You can read the record yourself on Companies House.

Haven’s other park near Selsey

Seal Bay will not be Haven’s only park on this coast. It already runs Church Farm Holiday Village at Pagham, near Bognor Regis, on the far side of Pagham Harbour. The release calls Seal Bay Haven’s 40th park; Haven says it has spent more than £700 million on its parks since Blackstone bought it in 2021, and that it recently added Richmond Holiday Centre (now Haven Skegness) and Holivans in Mablethorpe.

What changes, and when

Haven’s release sets out the timetable:

  • Rest of 2026: the park keeps trading as Seal Bay Resort.
  • 2027 season: it switches to the Haven brand.
  • Bookings: holidaymakers can keep booking on the current Seal Bay website, including breaks in 2027.

Haven says every one of its parks has an indoor pool, a supermarket, a pub-restaurant and branded food outlets. Among its 39 existing parks it lists nine with JD Wetherspoon pubs, 32 with Papa Johns and 22 with Burger Kings. The release does not say which of these, if any, are planned for Selsey.

Haven chief executive Simon Palethorpe said: “It’s a fantastic park in the most stunning location and will sit brilliantly alongside our 39 other parks.”

What the announcement does not say

The release is short, and it leaves out the questions that matter most on the peninsula:

  • nothing on what happens to the park’s staff
  • nothing on site fees or agreements for people who own a holiday home there
  • nothing on changes to the White Horse complex or other facilities open to day visitors

On 25 September, the seller’s website was still advertising holiday homes at Seal Bay with “site fees included until 2027”. Anyone buying now should ask in writing who will honour that offer after the handover.

Haven’s press office is at havenpressoffice@haven.com. Owners with questions about their own agreement should put them to the park’s owner services team, whose number is on the Seal Bay page.

Medmerry Park: administrators called in

A second holiday park on this stretch of coast that was part of the Cove group, Medmerry Park off Stoney Lane in Earnley, about two miles north-west of Seal Bay, has gone into administration.

Notices in The Gazette record that administrators were appointed on 8 September 2026 to both companies behind the park:

  • Cove Communities Venture 2 Medmerry Opco Limited, which runs it
  • Cove Communities Venture 2 Medmerry Propco Limited, which holds the property (second notice)

The joint administrators are Adam Paxton and Robert Croxen of Alvarez and Marsal Europe. The old Medmerry Park web address now lands on a Cove page that says: “The park you are looking for is no longer part of the Cove UK group.”

Administration is a rescue procedure, not a closure. The notices do not say whether the park is trading, and nothing we could find says whether it is for sale. Haven’s release does not mention Medmerry Park.

What it means for you

  • Booked at Seal Bay? Your booking stands, Haven says, and you can keep booking on the current website for 2027.
  • Own a caravan at Seal Bay? Nothing in the announcement changes your agreement today. Keep your paperwork and ask owner services what the handover means for your fees.
  • Own a caravan or have a booking at Medmerry Park? Creditors and anyone owed money can contact the administrators. The Gazette notices name Will Parker at Alvarez and Marsal, on 020 7715 5223 or INS_CCVMOL@alvarezandmarsal.com.

Travelling to Selsey this autumn? Check our Chichester roadworks and travel page first.

Frequently asked questions

Has Haven bought Seal Bay Resort in Selsey?

Yes. Haven announced on 24 September 2026 that Seal Bay Resort had been acquired by Blackstone, which owns Haven. Companies House filings show Haven’s chief executive, Simon Palethorpe, joining the board of the park’s operating company on 15 September and its registered office moving to Haven’s head office the next day.

When does Seal Bay become a Haven park?

It trades as Seal Bay Resort for the rest of 2026 and switches to the Haven brand for the 2027 season, Haven says. Bookings, including 2027 breaks, are still taken on the current Seal Bay website.

Is there already a Haven park near Selsey?

Yes. Haven runs Church Farm Holiday Village at Pagham, near Bognor Regis (PO21 4NR), on the other side of Pagham Harbour. Seal Bay will be Haven’s second park on this stretch of the Sussex coast and its 40th in total.