A family-run Perthshire business that has grown to more than 100 staff is toasting four decades of success.
Family owned and operated company Wood Leisure was founded by Colin and Margaret Wood, and has its head office in Blairgowrie.
The couple moved from Eyemouth, where Mr Wood owned the caravan park with his family, to open Blairgowrie Holiday Park.
Four decades on, Wood Leisure remains a family affair, with the couple’s three daughters now heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the business.
Rachel, Kirsty and Sarah, as well as Sarah’s husband Calum and Kirsty’s husband Bruce all currently work in the firm.
Sarah Wood MacGregor, their youngest daughter, is director of sales and marketing.
She said: “I’ve worked in the business since I was a teenager. I went to university before coming back in full-time and I took over as a manager when we purchased Deeside in 2008.
“We were there for about 10 years and I’m now director of sales and marketing.
“My older sister Rachel was first to come back after she did her business degree at Abertay.
“She was followed by Kirsty, and we all have our own department now.
“Mum and dad are still actively involved, though trying to take things a bit easier..”
From its beginnings at Blairgowrie, the family firm expanded over the years.
In 1994, it purchased Lomond Woods Holiday Park, and in 2000 its second Perthshire venture, Corriefodly Holiday Park.
Deeside Holiday Park in Aberdeenshire was acquired by Wood Leisure in 2008.
It then bought a pair of Stirlingshire parks over the past 12 years.
The company now has almost 500 holiday homeowners, 130 self-catering lodges, caravan holiday homes, ensuite glamping and camping pods.
“It’s fabulous to see the business grow,” Sarah, 37, said.
“We’ve been through some highs and lows.
“It’s amazing what we’ve achieved over 40 years and to see how far we’ve come, especially from when mum and dad started out.
“They’ve had a lot of ambition to get to where they are.”
Closing parks because of Covid
Some of the more difficult times for Wood Leisure came during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The parks were all forced to close and the majority of staff furloughed. Usually busy holiday parks were transformed overnight.
Sarah added: “It was exceptionally emotional.
“We’d never shut the parks and seeing them empty was eerie.
“It was really challenging but we had to keep looking forward. We invested in technology and our teams to ensure we were able to re-open safely whilst being ready for the future.”
Business bouncing back
And on reopening, business boomed thanks to a surge in staycation holidays last summer.
The firm now employs about 120 workers across its six parks.
“Last year was a fantastic year,” she said.
“We have a really strong core of regular customers and they’ve been really supportive. Staycation had a big boom which was fabulous for us.”
Looking after sales and marketing is a far cry from Sarah’s first jobs on the park.
“We lived on the park when I was child. It was just a big playground for me.
“I used to price sweets in the shop, then I got into housekeeping.
“We’ve all been very hands on. It makes you really appreciate all the roles and the team effort involved to make the parks successful.
But working as part of a close-knit family business can be difficult at times.
“We’re really close. We holiday together, spend Christmas together. We really try to make sure when we have family time, it’s not work time.
“It has its good days and its more challenging ones.”
They have plans for further investment in the parks and to grow the business started more than four decades ago.
‘They’ve put so much into it’
But they also want to do their parents proud.
“Mum and dad have a lot of knowledge and experience. They are always available for advice.
“We want to do them proud – they’ve put so much into it.”
And their efforts were rewarded recently as Blairgowrie won Best Holiday Park in Scotland at Scottish Hospitality Awards.
Mr Wood said: “I am delighted that Rachel, Kirsty, and Sarah, having grown up on the parks, have each returned to take their place within the family business.
“They continue to uphold our family values for the parks, whilst bringing fresh innovative ideas to take the company forward.”
Conversation