A DEAL to create the UK's second-largest caravan park business was finalised yesterday.

The £165m deal saw private equity buyer ABN Amro Capital take charge of Park Resorts and GB Holiday Parks, which owns six sites in the North-East.

Managers, led by chief executive David Vaughan, will invest part of the proceeds from the sale to take a stake in the business.

As well as sites in North Yorkshire, Whitley Bay and Northumberland, GB owns the Crimdon Dene caravan park, in Hartlepool, which it bought in March.

The Crimdon Dene site opened 50 years ago to take advantage of the thousands of holiday-makers - many of them mining families - visiting the area's beaches.

GB Holiday Parks has about 9,500 pitches in the South-East and North-East and has two sites in Scotland.

Park Resorts has about 8,500 pitches at locations including Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, Thorness Bay on the Isle of Wight and Clacton, in Essex. Its sites have bars, restaurants, swimming pools, shops and amusement centres.

Following the merger with GB Holiday Parks, the combined business will have 35 parks and 17,500 pitches.