April 2013 For immediate release

Center Parcs CEO to present at Leeds Met

Martin Dalby, the CEO of Center Parcs UK, is to give a guest lecture at Leeds Metropolitan University about his career at the helm of the short break holiday company. The public event, entitled Center Parcs A Decade of Success, will be held from 6-7pm on Thursday 11 April in the Universitys Rose Bowl building a t the City Centre Campus. Speaking ahead of the event Martin commented: Center Parcs has been part of my life for nearly 18 years now, and I am proud to be part of such a successful British company. As a Yorkshireman born and bred, I am really looking forward to sharing my experiences in my hometown of Leeds. Center Parcs has performed both successfully and consistently throughout the last decade and beyond. More interesting perhaps is its performance during the recent economic downturn. Backed by the strength of our brand Center Parcs, we have employed a simple strategy to continue the winning streak.

In his presentation, Mr Dalby will share his on-going approach as CEO and will provide an overview of key factors in leading and managing a business. Mr Dalby has led the business - which has a 300m turnover -

through major changes and growth including its sale by Scottish and Newcastle Breweries in March 2001 to Deutsche Bank Capital Partners. He also oversaw the purchase of the brands fourth holiday village in Oasis

Whinfell Forest and has led the initiative to develop a fifth site at Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire, which is due to open in Spring 2014.

This is just one in a series of guest lectures aimed at providing students with an insight into the careers of high profile business leaders. Other guest lectures have included Yorkshire Banks Chief Economist, Tom Vosa and Yorkshire Post Business Editor Bernard Ginns.

Mr Dalby joined Scottish and Newcastle Breweries (S&N) in 1978 and, after qualifying as an accountant, held various positions within the business. He joined Center Parcs as UK Financial Controller in 1995 and was promoted to Finance Director in 1997. In July 2000 he became CEO, at the time managing three Villages with a turnover of 110m.

In May 2006, Mr Dalby led the business through the public to private takeover by current owners, The Blackstone Group. During this period, significant capital investment took place across the four holiday villages with the upgrading of accommodation, new builds, restaurant refurbishments and new retail shops.

Ends

For further details please contact Julia Williams in the Communications team at Leeds Met on 0113 8125978 or email j.t.williams@leedsmet.ac.uk

Notes for editors: Leeds Metropolitan University has more than 27,000 students and around 3,000 staff. The Vice Chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University is Professor Susan Price and the Chair of the Board is Lord Woolmer of Leeds. Leeds Metropolitans four faculties are: Arts, Environment and Technology, Business & Law, Health and Social Sciences, and Carnegie.

Leeds Metropolitans heritage can be traced back to the founding of the Mechanics Institute in Leeds in 1824. The Destination of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE) showed that the proportion of Leeds Metropolitan 2010/11 graduates in work, further study or both six months after leaving university was 91.87%.

Libraries and Learning Innovation at Leeds Metropolitan was awarded the CSE standard for the tenth year running in 2012. In 2012, Leeds Metropolitan was awarded a First in the People & Planet Green League, a league table of environmentally friendly universities, for the sixth consecutive year.