New £200m property investment fund has a lust for leisure
By Jak Phillips
Otium Real Estate founder and CEO Ashley Blake (left), with finance director Pierre Hardy
A new £200m investment fund seeking opportunities to acquire leisure properties has completed its first three transactions and is on the hunt for further assets.
Property investment company Otium Real Estate raised £200m in December 2014 for its leisure-focused fund Otium Leisure Ventures, which seeks to add value through active asset management. Exclusively targeting leisure real estate – such as leisure parks, city centre leisure blocks and stand-alone assets including cinemas, restaurants, health clubs and bowling alleys – the acquisition of the first three assets totalled more than £30m.
The initial transactions include the Nuffield Health gym in Cannock for £4m, the Westgate Leisure Park in Wakefield for £12m and, most recently, the Newport Leisure Park at £14m. The Westgate Leisure Park and the Newport Leisure Park house a selection of well-known leisure brands such as Cineworld, Nandos, McDonalds, Harvester, Frankie & Bennys, Pizza Hut and Mecca. According to Otium, other deals are in the pipeline.
“We are delighted to have successfully acquired these three assets within seven months of our fund launch and achieved the creation of our first fund,” said Ashley Blake, CEO of Otium Real Estate.
“The leisure market is in great shape, with acquisition opportunities for those with specialist sector knowledge. Strong occupational demand and increasing consumer confidence are boosting leisure spending, making it an outperforming sector for property investment.”
A new £200m investment fund seeking opportunities to acquire leisure properties has
completed its first three transactions and is on the hunt for further assets.
Life Fitness has reimagined cardio with the launch of its Symbio line which has been
designed with advanced biomechanics and offers deep levels of customisation
Indoor bikes may remain stationary, but the discipline is in constant motion.
Innovators tell Steph Eaves how they’re keeping pace with the latest trends
The Maybourne Group has unveiled its all-new London
hotel The Emory. Megan Whitby goes behind the scenes
at Surrenne, its cutting-edge health and wellness club
Weight loss drugs are altering consumer behaviour, disrupting sectors from food retailing (smaller portions) to apparel (less fabric needed). We need to move fast to align with this new reality
In today's rapidly evolving fitness industry, where many online courses promise secret
formulas for entrepreneurial success, the reality is that few provide the necessary
knowledge to thrive in this fast-changing profession.
Altrafit has taken further steps to cement its reputation as a provider of high-quality,
affordable functional fitness equipment that is built to last with the development and
introduction of a new functional fitness keg for luxury gym operator, Third Space.
In a move to further strengthen its mission to be ‘caringly responsible’ Taylor Made Designs
(TMD) is committed to meeting the requirements of ISO 14001, the internationally agreed and
recognised standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS).
The launch of Mablethorpe’s new Station Leisure & Learning Centre marks the start of a once-
in-a-generation transformation of the Lincolnshire seaside town.
New £200m property investment fund has a lust for leisure
By Jak Phillips
Otium Real Estate founder and CEO Ashley Blake (left), with finance director Pierre Hardy
A new £200m investment fund seeking opportunities to acquire leisure properties has completed its first three transactions and is on the hunt for further assets.
Property investment company Otium Real Estate raised £200m in December 2014 for its leisure-focused fund Otium Leisure Ventures, which seeks to add value through active asset management. Exclusively targeting leisure real estate – such as leisure parks, city centre leisure blocks and stand-alone assets including cinemas, restaurants, health clubs and bowling alleys – the acquisition of the first three assets totalled more than £30m.
The initial transactions include the Nuffield Health gym in Cannock for £4m, the Westgate Leisure Park in Wakefield for £12m and, most recently, the Newport Leisure Park at £14m. The Westgate Leisure Park and the Newport Leisure Park house a selection of well-known leisure brands such as Cineworld, Nandos, McDonalds, Harvester, Frankie & Bennys, Pizza Hut and Mecca. According to Otium, other deals are in the pipeline.
“We are delighted to have successfully acquired these three assets within seven months of our fund launch and achieved the creation of our first fund,” said Ashley Blake, CEO of Otium Real Estate.
“The leisure market is in great shape, with acquisition opportunities for those with specialist sector knowledge. Strong occupational demand and increasing consumer confidence are boosting leisure spending, making it an outperforming sector for property investment.”
A new £200m investment fund seeking opportunities to acquire leisure properties has
completed its first three transactions and is on the hunt for further assets.
Life Fitness has reimagined cardio with the launch of its Symbio line which has been
designed with advanced biomechanics and offers deep levels of customisation
Indoor bikes may remain stationary, but the discipline is in constant motion.
Innovators tell Steph Eaves how they’re keeping pace with the latest trends
The Maybourne Group has unveiled its all-new London
hotel The Emory. Megan Whitby goes behind the scenes
at Surrenne, its cutting-edge health and wellness club
Weight loss drugs are altering consumer behaviour, disrupting sectors from food retailing (smaller portions) to apparel (less fabric needed). We need to move fast to align with this new reality
“Having now done some franchising, we realise that doing boutiques well requires detailed focus, blood, sweat and tears that can only be delivered by the homegrown team”
As the UK healthcare sector struggles with ever-increasing demand, health club operators are stepping in and offering members welcome medical support. Kath Hudson reports
Disappointment about being
passed over for promotion
gave Neil Randall, the resilience
he needed to climb the ranks.
He talks to Kath Hudson about
the challenges he faced early
in his career and the skills
he learned from them
When retailer, the €11 billion-a-year Colruyt Group, decided to get into the health club market, the plan was to fully integrate its entire business using customer insight data. The results are remarkable
In today's rapidly evolving fitness industry, where many online courses promise secret
formulas for entrepreneurial success, the reality is that few provide the necessary
knowledge to thrive in this fast-changing profession.
Altrafit has taken further steps to cement its reputation as a provider of high-quality,
affordable functional fitness equipment that is built to last with the development and
introduction of a new functional fitness keg for luxury gym operator, Third Space.
In a move to further strengthen its mission to be ‘caringly responsible’ Taylor Made Designs
(TMD) is committed to meeting the requirements of ISO 14001, the internationally agreed and
recognised standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS).
The launch of Mablethorpe’s new Station Leisure & Learning Centre marks the start of a once-
in-a-generation transformation of the Lincolnshire seaside town.