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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Running Nature

A South Bay investment firm has expanded into the woods, literally, after acquiring a local campground management company.Nolan Capital Inc. has purchased Valencia-based Pyramid Enterprises, which has nearly a half-century experience managing 175 campgrounds and 20 recreational lakes in California, Colorado, New Mexico and Washington state. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.Rob Weitz, director of acquisitions at Hermosa Beach-based Nolan Capital, said that his firm’s previous acquisition of Ortega National Parks — a similar business which also manages state, county and city parks — paved the way for the Pyramid Enterprises deal.Pyramid, the parent company of Rocky Mountain Recreation Co., manages campgrounds for the U.S Forest Service and recreational lakes for local city, state and county agencies. Locally, at Lake Casitas in Ventura County, the company rents out boats and runs the campgrounds’ general store. It also manages Castaic Lake in the Santa Clarita Valley.“They’re maintaining the facilities, keeping everyone safe,” Weitz said. “They have fairly long-term contracts, which makes (the company) very attractive.”Now that Nolan has taken over, the Pyramid company will broadened its mission.“That’s part of the investment thesis – expanding geographically,” Weitz said. “We think there are opportunities to grow organically. There are enhancements that we can make to the grounds.”The plan also includes adding like-minded businesses to Nolan’s portfolio.Unlike many firms, which manage a property for five to seven years before reselling it for a profit, Nolan Capital has no such intentions for Pyramid, Weitz said.“We’re flexible with our capital,” he said. “We’re industry agnostic, we don’t have a predetermined long term. It’s a family office so there’s no outside pressure.”Growth sectorA 2019 report by real estate brokerage CBRE Group for the National Park Service predicted future growth for campgrounds.“Overall, the camping industry is strong and long-term demand appears robust,” the report stated. “Growth realized is driven primarily through the increase in annual camping households coupled with their higher frequency to camp. This growth is expected to continue as exiting campers (e.g., mature and baby boomer generations) are replaced by new campers (e.g., millennials and generations Y and Z).”Calling from Montana last month while  on vacation, Chet and Traci Roberts discussed their business and why they decided the time was right to sell their company to Peter Nolan’s investment firm.“Recreation is a key thing for most of society,” Chet Roberts said. “If we can meet for challenges for increased operating costs but still make it affordable to the mass public, that’s what counts at the end of the day.”The couple began working together and later married. Traci recalled joining the company years ago because she could bring her two kids to work.“We worked very hard to grow it and make it efficient,” added Traci Roberts, who served as comptroller and handled bookkeeping, accounting, coordinating with other agencies.

“I was the one out dealing with the facilities, Traci held down the office,” Chet Roberts said of their operating model.Named after Pyramid Lake near Piru, Pyramid Enterprises was founded by Chet Roberts in 1975. He later renamed the brand Rocky Mountain Recreation Co. to reflect his company’s speedy expansion.“I was primarily operating lakes in Southern California,” Chet said. “I branched out and started bidding on forest services.”Soon, the company’s managerial services expanded beyond California and encompassed sites throughout Wyoming, Montana, Kentucky, Oregon and mostly Colorado, with 150 campgrounds in Colorado alone.“We’ve operated under Rocky Mountain Recreation Co. ever since,” Chet Roberts said.

Among the sites managed by the company: Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, which encompasses more than 4 million acres in Washington; and the 3-million-acre Pike San Isabel National Forest and Commanche National Grasslands in Colorado and Kansas.As seasonal sites, the forest campgrounds complement the lake part of the business with 700 employees; 100 of them work at the lake division, which in California covers bodies of water from the city of San Diego to Sacramento and Oakland.

“We didn’t want to be dependent on any one segment of the industry,” Chet Roberts explained.While Chet Roberts will miss seeing “the snowcapped mountains in Colorado on the way to work,” what he will miss the most is dealing with the public and that interaction.“I was always on the lookout for revenue situations and, of course, if something was successful and generated revenue, it was serving some need the public was looking for,” he said. “I will miss that part of it – identifying growth opportunities.”  Drought resistantDespite the droughts and forest fires in the western states during recent years, business has always remained strong.“We’ve never had a down year,” Chet Roberts said.Yet the sale of his business caught the longtime owner by surprise.“Traci and I had not even talked about selling,” he recalled. “Peter Nolan approached us (last July). I’ve been doing it for so long, I’m very passionate about it. … But then Traci reminded me how old I am, (so) we entered into the negotiation phase.”Chet Roberts said he cared enough about the business to make sure that it would be handled by a responsible entity.“I’ve given 47 years of my life to this business, I wanted to make sure it continued on,” Chet Roberts said. “They have the capital to expand the business that we didn’t have. They went into an extremely detailed analysis and decided it was a good investment.”

Michael Aushenker
Michael Aushenker
A graduate of Cornell University, Michael covers commercial real estate for the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. Prior to the Business Journal, Michael covered the community and entertainment beats as a staff writer for various newspapers, including the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, The Palisadian-Post, The Argonaut and Acorn Newspapers. He has also freelanced for the Santa Barbara Independent, VC Reporter, Malibu Times and Los Feliz Ledger.

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