Leisure parks

Citation

(2000), "Leisure parks", Property Management, Vol. 18 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2000.11318dab.023

Leisure parks

Leisure parks

Keywords: Market report, Leisure parks

Research undertaken by Trevor Wood of TW Research Associates in conjunction with Lunson Mitchenall has confirmed that 63 leisure parks are now trading, with a further 15 schemes in progress. The research also identified 24 retail and leisure parks trading with 12 more under development. There are, therefore, more than 100 leisure parks currently trading or in the pipeline.

These findings have arisen from research for Shopping Meets Leisure 2000, which has just been published. Shopping Meets Leisure 2000 is the first comprehensive research source to look at retail parks, leisure parks and those that combine both uses. The 63 leisure parks range in size from 45,000 to 300,000 sq.ft and are, on average, 141,000 sq.ft. As they combine activities, the 24 retail and leisure parks tend to be larger, ranging from 45,000 to 700,000 sq.ft and are, on average, 196,000 sq.ft.

The review lists a wide variety of tenants in leisure parks (or combined parks), involving almost 200 trading fascias, but the most likely tenants are Frankie & Benny's, McDonald's and Pizza Hut. These are closely followed by Burger King, Fatty Arbuckle's, Hollywood Bowl, KFC and Odeon and Virgin cinemas.

The research also identified 515 retail parks averaging 110,000 sq.ft and ranging up to 550,000 sq.ft. As with the leisure parks, over 25 per cent are located in the South East region. With such a large concentration, there are a number of smaller schemes in the region, and the average park is almost 10 per cent below the national average size. Retail parks in the North West and West Midlands regions are more than 10 per cent above the national average at 128,000 sq.ft and 126,000 sq.ft respectively.

Speaking about the latest findings, Neil Mitchenall of Lunson Mitchenall said:

The growing importance of leisure parks and combined schemes, given the increasing consumer demand for leisure activities, means that this comprehensive research source will become an essential reference work. We are pleased to assist other participants in this important growth sector.

Trevor Wood of TW Research Associates added:

There has been significant demand, particularly from letting agents and planners, for an economic reference book listing all retail parks and leisure schemes. We believe this first edition will be as well received as Going Shopping has been and we are already making plans for the 2001 edition.

Shopping Meets Leisure 2000 executive summary

Shopping Meets Leisure 2000 contains over 80 pages of information and is the first comprehensive research source to look at retail parks, leisure parks and those that combine both uses. Wherever possible, the tenants, agents and owners are listed for each scheme, together with recent investment transactions, current and proposed developments and other useful information. There is much informed comment within the review that is unpublished that has been either supplied by owners, managers and agents or derived from desk research.

The review has been produced by Trevor Wood of TW Research Associates in conjunction with Lunson Mitchenall. Copies of the full review are available for £95. Substantial discounts are available for multiple orders. After the first copy, a further four additional copies can be purchased for £75 per copy with any further copies costing £50 each.

The key points from this detailed review of more than 800 retail parks and leisure schemes are summarised below.

Established schemes

Our research has identified 677 established schemes; that is to say they are trading or in the course of construction. These include 63 leisure parks, 44 leisure schemes, 515 retail parks and 24 retail and leisure parks. The following analyses exclude floorspace data for phases under construction or proposed to be added to existing schemes.

The 63 leisure parks are, on average, 141,000 sq.ft and range from 45,000 to 300,000 sq.ft. There are 46 leisure parks larger than 100,000 sq.ft.

The 44 leisure schemes are, on average, 151,000 sq.ft and range from 35,000 to 515,000 sq.ft. There are 23 leisure schemes larger than 100,000 sq.ft.

The 515 retail parks are, on average, 110,000 sq.ft (excluding the 12 schemes partially completed that are below 30,000 sq.ft), and range from 30,000 to 550,000 sq.ft. There are 252 retail parks larger than 100,000 sq.ft.

The 24 shopping parks are, on average, 210,000 sq.ft. and range from 80,000 to 410,000 sq.ft. There are 21 shopping parks larger than 100,000 sq.ft.

The 24 retail and leisure parks are, on average, 196,000 sq.ft. and range from 45,000 to 700,000 sq.ft. There are 20 retail and leisure parks larger than 100,000 sq.ft.

There is a growing trend to incorporate leisure facilities within larger retail parks, which have been reclassified as retail and leisure parks where necessary. Conversely, several leisure schemes incorporate retail units to broaden their appeal and we have identified seven schemes that we have categorised as shopping and leisure centres. These are the Arcadian in Birmingham, The Square in Bournemouth, Mermaid Quay in Cardiff, Albert Dock Shopping Centre in Liverpool, the O2 Centre in Finchley Rd, London, the London Trocadero in Piccadilly, and Bargate Centre in Southampton.

As would be expected, a high proportion of each type of scheme, except retail and leisure parks, is located in the South East in line with most other indicators, such as population (Table XVIII).

Table XVIII. Regional location of the established schemes

The average size of scheme by region and type is shown in Table XIX.

The low numbers involved for all scheme types, other than retail parks, at the moment mean that it is too early to draw any meaningful analysis. It can be seen, however, that, whilst there are a large number of retail parks in the South East, the average size is slightly below the national average. The average sizes of retail parks in the North West and West Midlands are well above the national average.

Table XIX. Average size of scheme by region and type

Schemes coming out of the ground. Schemes such as Metropolitan in Glasgow, Greenwich Reach 2000, Parrswood Leisure Park in Manchester, The Gate in Newcastle upon Tyne and The Setts in Sheffield are coming out of the ground. That is to say they have planning permission or are likely to proceed. Schemes known to be under construction in summer 1999 were included in the regional analyses.

Our research suggests that 132 schemes are likely to proceed before the end of 2004, including 15 leisure parks, 55 leisure schemes, 45 retail parks and 12 retail and leisure parks. It should be noted that more than 100 speculative schemes were excluded from this review, partly because of their nature and partly due to short-term uncertainty by the developers or agents involved.

The 132 schemes range in size from 30,000 sq.ft to 640,000 sq.ft and average 168,000 sq.ft. Not surprisingly, 92 of these schemes are larger than 100,000 sq.ft.