Theme parks and health clubs
As the overall amount of time people spend on leisure and fitness related activities increases, so does the demand for theme parks, visitor attractions and health clubs. Our clients in this latter sector in particular have experienced very rapid and recent growth followed by consolidation.
The Millennium also saw the launch of many "legacy" projects: perhaps the most successful UK example was the London Eye, a project in which several members of our Leisure group were closely involved. Our experience means we are able to deliver creative and commercially viable advice to our wide variety of clients, helping them to realise their goals in a highly competitive market sector.
Our experience in the theme park and health club sector includes advising:
- Club Med on the sale of 11 fitness centres throughout France to a consortium of investors
- The London Eye Company Limited on all aspects of the London Eye construction project, including negotiation and renewal of the lease and pier agreements, advising on sponsorship, franchising, as well as all aspects of the construction of the observation wheel
- the Bank of Scotland on a £55m facility for the acquisition of Morrison Merlin Limited, the owner of the leisure and retail centre, Great Northern, Deansgate, Manchester and on the funding of the development of the Snowdome Leisure Development Castleford, West Yorkshire
- Merlin Entertainment Group on the development of Sealife Centres in Germany and the Earth Explorer Centre in Belgium
- Really Useful Theatres (formerly Stoll Moss) on all aspects of RUT's real estate work including structured finance and employment work, front of house and backstage work, advice to their corporate hospitality and ticketing division, restructuring, board level terminations and industrial relations/trade union issues
- BAE Systems Pension Fund in connection with an acquisition of additional land and letting at Cannons Health and Fitness club, Wexham, Buckinghamshire
- London visitor attraction Vinopolis on its Bankside development and operations
- Rockingham Motor Speedway Limited on fund-raisings, planning and environmental issues, construction contracts, catering and other outsourcing and sponsorships