Featured property - HLL Humberts Leisure

Day Visitor Attractions | Extreme sportsA sportingchanceThe visitor enterprise business is a multibillionpound industry in the UK, and recentyears have seen significant developments inthe visitor attraction sector, with much of thisbeing stimulated by the Millennium and theavailability of lottery funding. Figures producedby Visit Britain recently show that visitorattractions in the UK have enjoyed continuedgross revenue growth, with 2005 data showing a7% rise on 2004 – well above inflation.In the last few years there has been increasinginterest in the development of major sports-baseddestination visitor attractions. Many of these arecentred on the growing popularity of extreme/adventure sports amongst the more demandingand increasingly affluent younger generations.The national drive towards a healthier and moreactive lifestyle, and the London Olympics in 2012will undoubtedly raise interest in such facilitiesover the coming years.Building on established brands such asXscape, more recent examples of this includethe Yes! scheme, which is a £300 millionleisure, sports and entertainment destinationproject in South Yorkshire. Yes! will includemore than 1 million sq.ft. of leisure and sportsfacilities with a significant accommodationoffering, centred on a major indoor andoutdoor extreme sports facility. The SnOasisscheme is another major example planned forSuffolk. This will include the developmentof the UK’s largest indoor ski slope andsnowdome, although this latter project wascalled in for a public inquiry in mid-2006which is expected to delay the opening of thedestination by at least a year to 2011.HLL Humberts Leisure’s Planning andConsulting team are currently working ondevelopment appraisals for the provision ofmajor destination visitor attractions at sitesin Essex and South Bristol. The team is wellestablishedand has significant experiencein the provision of advice to private andpublic sector clients regarding their marketopportunities. In particular, the team canassist with:■ Development option appraisals andmarket viability studies;■ Financial appraisals and business plans;■ Economic impact studies;■ Planning and site marketing.ContactPeter Sharp BA(Hons) MBHA, Brightone: peter.sharp@humberts-leisure.comt: +44 (0)1273 325 911Cherise Smith BA(Hons), Brightone: cherise.smith@humberts-leisure.comt: +44 (0)1273 325 91132 Spring 2007