In a move which throws an unfortunate shade of negativity on this year’s fantastic National Caravan Council (NCC) Motorhome & Caravan Show, Discover Leisure has closed its stand amid current financial problems. An announcement was made regarding the withdrawal of share trading on the London Stock Exchange early this morning after a week which has seen 48% wiped from the value of the company.

The large UK retailer, with five dealerships across the UK, is no stranger to financial uncertainty having faced similar issues in 2009. This latest situation led to the following statement issued from the group’s York HQ: “The board now believes that it is increasingly unlikely that an acceptable solution to the funding issues that the group faces can be secured in the necessary timeframe.”

I understand that Discover had taken orders for caravans during the first three days of the show, but industry sources advised me that they were only taking deposits of £1 from customers.

It will be a sad thing if the NCC’s fantastic return to the show calendar is remembered for this incident rather than the impressive footfall and positive atmosphere that has been evident so far this week.

At the time of writing, Discover Leisure was not available for comment.

Last week a friend of mine asked where he could get cheap insurance for his Bailey caravan. Naturally I referred him to my own company – Shield Total Insurance.

However, it started a discussion as he thought caravans were rated like cars where a Bailey may be in a different group to a Swift etc.
I explained that caravan insurance isn’t that sophisticated and that premiums vary according to value, storage location, security and previous claims history. He said that’s mad as he knows that repair prices on his new Bailey are cheaper than a caravan with conventional construction. An interesting point.

Any views?