The owners of Cheshire-based Eurocamp have acquired its french rival Vacanceselect Group for €1billion, which includes the popular Canvas Holidays brand in the UK. 

Eurocamp is based in Northwich, employing 250 people at their headquarters, and is part of the wider ECG group which is based in France.

The deal sees Eurocamp owner ECG triple its campsite portfolio to include 500 sites across France, Italy, Spain, Croatia and The Netherlands and after approval from the necessary authorities, will create a company with a €700 million annual turnover.

Eurocamp managing director Darren Marsh said: "This deal provides Eurocamp customers with a truly unrivalled choice of holiday parks across the most popular travel hotspots in Europe.

"We can't wait to introduce this new holiday park portfolio to our guests in the coming months."

Eurocamps Ltd. was set up in 1973 in Knutsford before moving to Northwich in 1998.