Germany: New Owner at Wunderland Kalkar
After 25 years, Wunderland Kalkar now has a new owner. On 1 August 2022, Hennie van der Most (Most Beheer), who founded the amusement park on the Lower Rhine not far from the Dutch border a quarter of a century ago, and the Dutch DeFabrique Holding signed the deal, which also includes the complete takeover of the staff. In future, DeFabrique Holding will take over the management of Kernwasser Wunderland Freizeitpark GmbH together with Han Groot Obbink.
A few years ago, Hennie van der Most had already announced his intention to hand over the park. The planned retirement of Van der Most, who has no successor within the family, was accordingly foreseeable. The search for a suitable external interested party who would be willing to take over the current charm of the popular hotel, business and leisure complex, expand it in the following years, modernise it and introduce new aspects was not an easy task for the previous owner. With DeFabrique Holding, who have been successfully active in the hospitality industry for a long time, the right interested party has now been found – is Van der Most sure about. For DeFabrique Holding and Van der Most, the importance of the Wunderland as an economic factor for the region plays an equally important role – this motor is to be driven forward in the future. Up to 320 people are currently employed at Wunderland Kalkar (almost 120 of them in permanent positions). And the benefits of Wunderland as an economic force for the region, as an employer and as a leisure destination were as high then as they are now. Around 600,000 visitors a year and a turnover of around 14 million euros (in 2019) demonstrate this.
The former owner says goodbye with a laughing and a crying eye. After all, Wunderland Kalkar, in which around 50 million euros have been invested so far, was his project, which he launched against some opposition in 1995, and with which he made a globally unique statement about what can be created from a nuclear power plant that was never connected to the grid. Now it is time for DeFabrique Holding and the Wunderland Kalkar team to move hand in hand into the future. (eap)
