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Grosvenor - Building PR 2004
FIFE LEISURE PARK EXPANDS INTO UK'S TOP TEN LEISURE SITES
Bowling Operator Top of Wish List As Market Research Predicts Exciting
Future For "Magnet Attraction"
A series of major deals and successful planning applications over the
last
two months has seen the Fife Leisure Park, in Dunfermline, Fife, become
one of the top ten leisure parks by size in the UK.
Grosvenor, the park's developers, are now spearheading a new expansion
phase for the 35-acre site - with independent market research revealing
that a major bowling operator is top of the Park's visitor wish-list.
As part of the current expansion, successful planning approvals have now
been granted by Fife Council for:
* A £6m state-of-the-art bingo club managed by Carlton Clubs,
covering 35,000 sq ft and offering 2,000 seats
* A 40-bed Whitbread Travel Inn and 6,000 sq ft Brewster Family pub,
* A 3,500 sq ft Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-through unit
* An approved consent for a 30,000 sq ft bowling arcade
The current expansion adds to the existing offering of the Fife Leisure
Park which first opened in June 2000 on a prime site overlooking the M90
motorway, north of the Forth Road Bridge.
The site is anchored by a
10-screen Odeon Multiplex Cinema and current operators include Bannatyne's
Health Club, Frankie & Benny's Restaurant, Pizza Hut and McDonald's.
David Sivewright, Projects Director for Grosvenor, believes the Park is
now
near to providing a complete leisure offering. "We are currently
pursuing a
bowling operator to take up the approved 30,000 sq ft planning consent
for a bowling arcade, which will complete this development phase,"
he says.
"Once that deal is complete, we are confident that the site will
continue in
its steady rise to become a significant magnet attraction for visitors
from
as far as Perth in the north to Edinburgh in the south, as well as
capitalising on an increasingly loyal and affluent immediate catchment
across Dunfermline and the West Fife region."
Grosvenor's pursuit of a bowling operator is supported by the publication
of an independent market research report (MRUK: May 2004) which showed
that almost 40% of current users identified a bowling alley as their number
one choice for future on-site facilities.
"Bowling was far and away the most popular preferred choice amongst
survey responders - almost three times more than any other facility,"
adds
Sivewright. "This confirms our long-held view that the Park's catchment
could easily sustain - and indeed demands - a major bowling operation,
justifying the decision for an approved planning consent to complete the
current expansion phase."
Visitors also expressed a strong preference for a new food outlet on the
site, with Indian, Chinese and Italian restaurants all receiving more
than
50% in survey responses requesting a preferred restaurant of choice.
The research revealed the site as having an unusually loyal catchment.
A
third of visitors stay up to four hours on site, with 40% of users spending
more than £40 for each visit. Typical visitor figures are estimated at
more
than 100,000 per month (based on individual statistics from all current
operators), making it one of the most visited tourist and leisure attractions
in Scotland.
Both security and access also rated highly in the market research study.
The Fife Leisure Park currently has an 865 capacity car park and a
comprehensive CCTV security camera system in place, together with 24-hour
on-site manned security.
Niall Macdonald, of agents Jones Lang LaSalle, who act for Grosvenor on
the Fife Leisure Park, said the research findings reveal a catchment which
is expanding both in terms of population and per-capita spend.
"The figures reveal what we have already known for some time - that
the West Fife region immediately north of Edinburgh is now a fast growing
and affluent commuter area serving Scotland's central belt. The housing
boom in Dunfermline in particular shows no sign of abating - with major
developments taking place within the town's eastern expansion zone, immediately
adjacent to the Fife Leisure Park."
Dunfermline saw an 18.4 per cent rise in property prices between the second
quarter of 2003 and 2004, with the average house now costing £110,940
according to the latest Edinburgh Solicitors' Property Centre report.
Agents Jones Lang LaSalle act for Grosvenor (Fife Leisure Park)
Fife Leisure Park - Building PR Aug 16 2004
Facts & Figures
The first phase of the £25m Fife Leisure Park, near Dunfermline, opened
in 2000. Overlooking the M90, the Odeon has become an instantly recognisable
landmark for the 60,000 or so cars which pass it every day. The Leisure
Park currently has an 865 capacity car park, a comprehensive CCTV security
camera system in place, together with 24-hour on-site manned security.
Current tenants include: Odeon Multiplex Ten Screen Cinema, Health Club,
Pizza Hut, McDonald's and Frankie & Benny's. The Odeon Multiplex has enjoys
an average of 15,000 visitors per week, placing it amongst the top ten
most visited of the 175 Odeon Cinemas across the UK. The cinema is the
second most visited Odeon in Scotland, and currently has the second highest
market share of every cinema in the Edinburgh area.
Grosvenor Shopping Centre Fund:
Grosvenor has a strong track record in UK fund management. The Grosvenor
Shopping Centre Fund was set up in 1998 as a UK Limited Partnership, and
has increased its institutional investors from three to 11 in the last
year. The Fund was ranked as the best performing quarterly or monthly
valued fund for the year ending March 2004 by the Investment Property
Databank.
Grosvenor Scotland:
Grosvenor has an established presence in Scotland, having a dedicated
office in Edinburgh for more than 20 years. Grosvenor is the main development
partner for the Fife Leisure Park, in Dunfermline, Fife, and Holyrood
Park House in Edinburgh, and has key partnership roles in the Pacific
Quay development in Glasgow and Edinburgh
Technopole, the world-class science park south of Edinburgh.
Other Scottish Shopping Centres:
Braehead,
west of Glasgow
Forge
Shopping Centre in Parkhead, Glasgow
Glasgow
Fort, Auchinlea, Glasgow
Fort Kinnaird Shops, east Edinburgh
The Gyle, west Edinburgh
Edinburgh : back to index
Fife Architecture
Fife Restaurants
Fife Building - Saline Sitooterie
for Fife Council
Fife School - St Brycedale Campus
by RMJM
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