The History And Origins Of The Haulfryn Group

The beginnings of the Haulfryn Group

For over 80 years we’ve been bringing moments of joy to our customers, whether that be on our Residential Parks or our Holiday Home owners and visitors.

The history of the Haulfryn Group begins with the Minoprio Family, originally from Pavia in northern Italy.

It was whilst Frank Minoprio was on holiday with his family in 1908, in Abersoch on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, he recognised the beauty of the beaches and potential for holidays. He bought a strip of land on which he built a fine granite house which he called Haulfryn, meaning ‘sunny hill’ in Welsh.

The rest, as they say, is history.

1930's- In 1935 the Haulfryn Estate Company was founded, with Frank, his wife and 9 children being shareholders. His sons Anthony, James and Hilary were to shape the fortunes and growth of the company right through to the 1970's.
1940's- Anthony, the eldest son became Chairman of Haulfryn in 1944 and always had a keen eye for the visual importance and attention to detail of anything Haulfryn did. After leaving the Navy, James pursued a career in business, spending over 30 years in the City, mostly working in commodities. He brought a wealth of City experience to Haulfryn. It was left to Hilary, with his love for Abersoch and North Wales to become, at the age of 33, the company’s first Managing Director.
1950's- The company’s aim was to develop the land at The Warren, just down the road from the family holiday home at Abersoch. By the start of the 1960’s The Warren was a model park, extremely popular and turning a profit. Haulfryn had survived its start-up years.Since the 1930’s holidaymakers had been parking their caravans on The Warren on a casual basis and the first caravan site licence was obtained in 1948.
1960's- To help the planned growth the company began to employ professional non family members to take senior positions. This brought new ideas and new possibilities. Donald Songhurst joined the company in 1963 as General Manager.
1970's- The 1970’s were years of further expansion. In 1972 the freehold of Barmouth Bay was bought and Gimblet Rock followed in 1973. Crugan, another park on the Llyn, was bought in 1975. Hilary Minoprio retired the same year after 30 years as Managing Director, remaining Chairman. His nephew Andrew took over in his stead, with Quinton Minoprio as Deputy Chairman.
1980's- In October 1982 Quinton was asked by the Board to take on the dual role of Chairman and Managing Director, a position he was admirably suited to, having grown up in Abersoch. Quinton acted fast and decisively and upset the comfortable culture that had built up in the 1970’s, cutting overheads and making the company a much leaner and fitter business.
1990's- In 1990 Haulfryn was able to buy 7 residential parks in the South of England that traded as Surrey Park Homes, starting Haulfryn’s Residential Parks Division. In addition, 4 further parks were purchased from the Gowring Group bringing to an end what was called the ‘Quin era’, with Quinton retiring as Chairman in 2000.
2000's- In 2000 Stephen Minoprio and Richard Minoprio, grandsons of the founder, became Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively. This continued the strong theme of family involvement in the business.
2010's and now- In February 2020 Echo Lu was brought in as Chief Executive Officer, and alongside the dedicated board of directors, Haulfryn was propelled into the 2020s, raising standards, expectations, and accountability. Despite the difficulties that were faced during the pandemic, the company, teams, and customers were at the forefront of decisions, ensuring everyone was kept safe throughout, alongside a focus to continue the stability of the company to enable further growth.

A family business you can feel a part of