Meet Chief Executive Officers, Rob Kearsley and Andrea Challis, who are leading Partington’s Holiday Parks into a bright future with loyalty, laughter and a lot of love for this highly cherished, multi-generational business; and each other.
The brother and sister team are 4th generation family members of the leading local Lancashire-based company, which now owns and operates holiday parks across Lancashire, the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales; all with a focus on family fun and future innovation.
From a very young age, Rob and Andrea were immersed right in the heart of the thriving business that was founded by their great grandparents in 1944 and are proof that family values, hard work and a genuine care for people can drive long-term success.
The siblings spent their school holidays learning the ropes first hand – from cleaning caravans to cutting grass and even clearing drains – and they loved it! Rob recalled: “We grew up on the parks, but I was first properly involved and working from age eleven at the weekends and during the holidays, and from then on it was all I ever wanted to do.”
Andrea is two years older than her brother and remembers family mealtimes as being the first window into an exciting future she had no realisation of at the time. “Probably my earliest memories of understanding the family business were around the dinner table at night with dad, when he was talking about what had happened that day,” she says. “I do remember it was all hands-on deck for us right from the start and we did every task we were asked to, even the less fun ones like cleaning the loos! and we were happy to do it and to be part of the team.”
These early experiences weren’t just chores – they were life lessons. As young children, Andrea and Rob watched their parents and grandparents lead with enthusiasm and empathy, never asking anyone to do something they wouldn’t do themselves. That ethos has remained central to their leadership today…
“You have to know every single department and how it works, otherwise how can you say to someone – this may be a better way of doing it?” says Rob, who is on the ground every day working with the parks’ maintenance teams, having spent time working across every aspect of the parks – including in the clubhouses and the sales teams. After attending a local college, Rob was employed on the parks full time and was even running one of the bars aged 18 before venturing into sales under the ‘magnificently matriarchal’ Mrs Bateman. “Her report for the Board members after I had been working there a while said ‘I can’t tell you whether Robert’s any good at selling because he’s moved to Windy Harbour now, but the sales are way up at Windy Harbour.’ They had gone from 50 sales to 99!” laughs Rob.
Andrea also still goes out housekeeping; “It’s to remind us how hard all our people work and helps highlight aspects we may want to change – for instance, after Covid, Rob and I helped out in the clubs, with Rob working behind the bar while I was collecting glasses on those huge big trays – taking them in and out of boiling hot dishwashers and it was exhausting. After that I changed our wage structure straight away so that a Partington’s worker aged 17 gets exactly the same pay as someone aged 25. They are doing the same job and it’s hard work, so why should they be paid any less?”
But did they imagine that one day they’d be running the whole thing together? Rob was instantly smitten with park life: “I just knew straight away it was for me,” he says. “No two days are the same, it’s hands on and it’s a job that challenges the way you think. I am not very good at monotonous repetition so I needed something that would keep me actively interested, and all these years later I still am! And I am still never too far from the ground,” Rob smiles. “It’s where the magic happens.”
For Andrea it took a little longer to fall in love with park life: “I didn’t want to be fully involved in the family business at an early age – I wanted to be a fashion designer! I went away to study and I got a job for Duni – a Swedish dining ware company and then worked for the travel company Airtours. I then came into Partington’s working in sales and customer service aged 27 just to help out, and I loved it! I have never not loved it since, and I have also got to live my fashion designer dream by re-designing all the uniforms, which has been so wonderful to do.”
But why do they love it so much? Andrea puts it down to family: “What I enjoy most is working with Rob because he makes me laugh all the time. I can’t imagine doing anything else with anybody else now. We share an office and he’s such great fun. Our values are fun, family, friendly and that for me starts and ends with us. We even take all our holidays together! We are great friends with each other’s spouses and love to spend our downtime together, going away for weekends and out for dinner.”
As for working together as siblings? “We balance each other out with our different strengths,” says Rob. “I love coming up with all sorts of creative ideas for the business and Andrea helps make them happen with her incredible business expertise. Just like when we couldn’t open any of the public areas during Covid, I bought five horse boxes and turned them into mobile bars. You have to think outside the box – or the horse box sometimes!”
Andrea firmly agrees: “Rob is the entrepreneur, and our business simply would not expand and thrive the way it has done without his creativity and vision.”
This creative vision and clever business sense has been evident in the smart moves the sibling CEOs have made since taking the reins – including changing the structure of the Partington’s Board to allow for non-family members, opening the £2m entertainment experience Walterz at Newton Hall in 2023, and the acquisition of the 166-acres of land surrounding the Windy Harbour Holiday Park.
Andrea expanded: “Up until about seven years ago, the only Board members were family, and you can’t home grow all the specialist talent needed for a business like this in important areas such as finance, marketing and HR etc. It’s been a game changer for us to develop our new Board the way we have.”
Rob and Andrea are also the masterminds behind the incredible new leisure development Partington’s is planning at Windy Harbour which represents a £75 million investment into the region and will sit within the expansive 166-acre natural site, which currently surrounds the 64-acre Windy Harbour Holiday Park. “This new development will feature beautiful new holiday lodges, a stunning luxury spa and lifestyle complex and full leisure facilities, all with a focus on harmonious integration into the landscape, and is our way of futureproofing the business for the next generation and beyond.” says Rob, with the enthusiasm for a thrilling new project evident on his face. Watch this space…
Partington’s clearly holds a special place in the hearts of Andrea and Rob – and that passion extends to every member of their team, as well as the thousands of holiday home owners and visitors who return year after year. “Partington’s is about community, tradition and making magical memories, and we keep that spirit alive by fun, family focused events – such as we did for the 80th celebrations last year,” added Rob. “We organised activities across all of our holiday parks throughout the twelve-month celebration including live music acts, bouncy castles, funfairs and even a hoedown! We also like to put on regular traditional events such as making paper aeroplanes and organising egg and spoon races for the families and everyone loves to get involved.”
But what is it that sets Partington’s apart from other holiday parks? Andrea believes it’s the strength and unity of the team members. “Our team genuinely feels like they’re part of something special. We regularly come together to share ideas and spark creativity – one memorable session involved a word jumble where everyone wrote down the words they associate with Partington’s. The standout words from everyone were “fun,” “family,” and “friendly” – which perfectly captured who we are and naturally became our motto. It’s not just a tagline for us. We have also come out on top for the Employee Questionnaire for the North West Employers Engagement Group each year, which was wonderful to see. People are happy and enthusiastic in our workplace because we don’t treat them like a number. 75% of our managers are women now too and that’s a big change from how it used to be when I first started. I was the only woman in the room all those years ago.”
Many staff members have been with the company for decades – with the longest serving staff member currently clocking up 57 years! And many guests return year after year, some for generations, with the overriding reason being – ‘it’s our happy place’.
So what does the future hold for Partington’s? For Rob, it’s all about building for the next generation – ensuring the parks not only thrive today but remain vibrant for years to come. “We’re constantly reinvesting in our infrastructure, upgrading facilities and most importantly, supporting our people and the Partington’s community. It’s about evolving to meet the expectations of today’s holidaymakers while anticipating the needs of tomorrow.
“That includes embracing environmental advancements such as harnessing solar energy, using natural bore holes, supporting our local food suppliers and even growing our own produce on site! We are also nurturing the next generation of the Partington’s family to learn the business exactly the same way that Andrea and I did. Two of my children already work on the parks full time and my youngest works in the holidays from university.”
Andrea adds: “My daughter works here full time too! She went to live in Australia for eight years and now she is back here and loving it! Just like I did!”
As for running a family business that has spanned generations, it’s all about legacy, connection and purpose for Andrea. “There’s something really special about knowing our great grandparents started this business. We’re walking the same land they did, continuing what they began. I still get a little buzz thinking about that. And then there’s the people – we have team members who’ve spent their whole careers with us. They’re more than colleagues, they’re friends. Knowing that what we do supports their families as well as our own is incredibly fulfilling. I love working with Rob, it’s not just a job for us, it’s part of who we are. I genuinely love getting up and coming to work every day.”
Rob agrees: “The very best part of being a part of Partington’s is working with my sister. Together, we see ourselves as custodians of the business for the next generation, and we’re really excited about where it’s heading.”
Partington’s Holiday Parks – a legacy of family friendly fun, a future of possibilities.