Undressed for success: tycoon sells nudist camp chain for £1.8m

Ask Peter Englert whether he is a naturist and he appears a little taken aback. "I'm not quite sure what that is," he says. "When I'm on a nude beach I take my clothes off."

The suggestion that there is anything unusual about the desire to strip naked and hang around with a group of like-minded unclad devotees of the great outdoors is treated with reactions varying from surprise to mild annoyance by Britain's estimated one million naturists. If there is one thing that everyone in the world has in common, it is the fact that underneath our clothes we are all naked, they say.

Mr Englert knows more than most about the desire to relax in the all-together. The 70-year-old German-born entrepreneur has sold the naturist travel business he established 35 years ago in a £1.8m deal with a company called Travelzest.

With a £2.6m annual turnover, and claiming a 90 per cent share of the unclothed package travel market, Mr Englert's brainchild, Peng Travel, offers destinations in Europe, America and the Caribbean. As well as more conservative family holidays, its flagship resorts, Hedonism II and III, on Jamaica's seven-mile Negril beach, offer no-holds-barred adult fun - shorthand for a vibrant sex scene - where an all-inclusive 14 nights costs up to £2,500.

Mr Englert founded the business around the time that Carry on Camping was linking nudism and the outdoors with the pursuit of sex in the minds of British cinema audiences. But it was frustration rather than raw ambition that was to be his inspiration.

"I was tired of being pushed around by bosses who pooh-poohed good business ideas I put forward, only to come up with identical ones themselves three months later," he said. "I thought I should go into business for myself."

But there was a problem: he didn't have any money. Scanning the international travel trade, he came across a German operator who was catering for 360,000 nude holidaymakers a year. It seemed to be the ideal niche market. "I thought, here is my opportunity. I don't have to spend millions on advertising against Cosmos and Thomsons. All I have to do is contact the 120 naturist clubs and send brochures and advertise in their two magazines."

Since then the market has grown dramatically. In an indication of just how mainstream naturism has come, Travelzest, an ambitious young company with plans to become a £100m travel conglomerate, came knocking at the door. Its chief executive, Chris Mottershead, wants to tap into the market offered by Europe's 20 million to 25 million naturists.

"A huge number of people have tried nude sunbathing and are comfortable with it, and then there are the people who want to live in the nude. It seems to be a British thing to find it embarrassing - in Europe and other parts of the world it is not an issue," he said.

But there are problems. In the internet age many customers find naturist websites blocked because they are lumped together by filters which are designed to screen out pornographic sites. But according to Andrew Welch, commercial manager of British Naturism, public attitudes are changing. "It is quite simply a wonderful way of being," he says. "It is totally inoffensive and it is perfectly clear the law is not against naturism.

"Things such as Page 3 encourage the perception that the naked body is all about sex. This is simply not true," said Mr Welch.

On its website, British Naturism seeks to reassure those worried about getting aroused during their first visit, stating boldly: "Nudity in sun clubs is not sexually stimulating. Being naked in a social environment for the first time will give you plenty else to think about."

The top five destinations

* HEDONISM II AND III, Jamaica

Adult-only resorts with the emphasis on sexuality. Activities range from the standard volleyball and aerobics to risqué contests and drinking games.

* CAP D'AGDE, France

Not a resort but an entire nudist city on the Mediterranean. Attracts 40,000 nudists at the height of the summer season.

* LAKE COMO FAMILY NUDIST RESORT, Florida

Established in 1947, it claims to be Florida's oldest nudist resort. Home to the Bare Buns Bikers and the annual Dare To Go Bare run.

* PEVORS FARM COTTAGES, Essex

A four-star resort in tranquil countryside, with an indoor heated swimming pool and secluded sunbathing areas, as well as a barbecue for the more sociable nudist.

* COSTA NATURA, Spain

Spain's first purpose-built nudist resort, near Marbella, with 200 apartments.