Specialist leisure property adviser, Christie & Co, has been instructed to sell an award-winning visitor attraction: Eden Camp Modern History Museum in North Yorkshire.
Originally a prisoner of war (POW) camp, Eden Camp was built on the outskirts of Malton in early 1942 to accommodate Italian POWs.
In 1985 the site was purchased by Stan Johnson and following an initial £750,000 investment, the world’s only Modern History Museum was created within what was the original camp, opening in 1987.
Today, the museum tells the story of The People’s War, the social history of life in Britain from 1939 to 1945, with realistic tableaux, moving figures, authentic sounds and even smells recreated to “transport you back in time.”
Over the last few years the business has invested over £1.25m in renovation and restoration works to the fabric of the buildings as well as adding a new ‘Blitz Experience’, a remodelled entrance, new exhibition spaces and the Heritage Exhibition Hall which provides an undercover display arena for Eden Camp’s collection of unique and rare military vehicles and equipment.
The business enjoys close collaboration with veterans groups, providing immersive displays that cover both social and military history and its archive has grown into a resource of national historical and educational importance.
Attracting around 125,000 visitors each year, the museum is a popular venue for school groups, with around 25,000 children visiting in 2023 and for many years in succession, the museum has received both TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice and Certificates of Excellence awards. In 2024 the centre celebrated a record-breaking year, with unprecedented visitor numbers drawn to its programme of experiences and events.
With the migration of the collection’s archive to a digital platform offering a free resource, to creating and hosting activity workshops themed around the KS2 syllabus, the museum aims to boost accessibility to history through various mediums aimed at the younger generation.
After nearly 40 years in the same family ownership the business is being offered for sale for the very first time due to retirement.
Christie & Co are seeking substantial offers for the business to include the valuable freehold property.
Howard Johnson, son of the late Stan Johnson, said: “Since our father passed away in 2015, my sister and I have continued as custodians of this incredible business.
“We have consistently invested in improving the facilities and customer experience and have a fantastic team we work with here, but we too are at that time in our lives where it makes sense to pass the reigns to new owners. I’ve been contacted a number of times over the years asking if we would sell and so this tremendous opportunity now becomes a reality.”
Jon Patrick, Head of Leisure & Development at Christie & Co who is overseeing the sale process, added: “There are many people, particularly those from Yorkshire, who will have visited Eden Camp as a child and returned with their own children, parents and even grand-parents as there is something here for everyone.
“With over 105,000 items of memorabilia we can see Eden Camp appealing to a national and even international buyer audience, such is the interest in the subject matter. From a tourist perspective, it also benefits from the vast majority of its displays being undercover and so would provide a great hedge against inclement weather for visitor attraction operators with primarily outdoor facilities.
“We can also envisage Eden Camp being of interest to other museums, collections and collectors and whilst not forming part of the operating business itself, our clients own a number of rare and valuable military vehicles outside the company structure on offer, which could be made available to purchase or lease by way of separate negotiation.”
