Monmouthshire County Council buys leisure park for £21m

Monmouthshire County Council has purchased Newport Leisure Park for £21m.

The council has confirmed that it has acquired the freehold of the 141,000 sq. ft leisure park, which contains a 13-screen cinema, gym and car parking space.

The council says the park is a ‘crucial purchase’ due to the large amounts of new housing being built in the area, which is close to the proposed route for the new M4 relief road which is set to be built by 2022.

Paul Matthews, CEO of Monmouthshire County Council, said: ‘We are pleased to have secured a well-let, long income asset that will provide an excellent annual return for the Council and help us to sustain our wider service delivery portfolio in the years ahead.

‘Newport Leisure Park serves a large catchment area in South Wales and taps into the long-term demand for experiential consumer spend and leisure activities.’

The 141,000 sq. ft Newport Leisure Park includes a 13-screen Cineworld cinema, a gym, a range of restaurants such as McDonalds and Burger King, as well as 705 car parking spaces.

The 11-acre site also provides links to the nearby Newport Retail Park and the Tesco Extra on the eastern side of Newport.

In the past four years under its previous owners, Otium Real Estate, the leisure park has received significant new investment and is now fully let.

Otium Real Estate, who previously owned the park, said that it was ‘delighted’ that South Wales will benefit from the investment it has made.

Ashley Blake, CEO of Otium Real Estate, said: ‘We have invested heavily into Newport Leisure Park since acquiring it in 2015. Five new tenants have joined the offer, the park has been refurbished and existing tenants have enhanced their fit-outs.

‘We are delighted that Monmouthshire County Council has had the foresight to acquire this asset and that the South Wales area will continue to benefit from this long-term, secure investment following our work to regenerate the park.

‘We have enjoyed the experience of working with Monmouthshire County Council and wish them well for the future.’

Newport Leisure Park is the latest addition to the council’s commercial investment portfolio after it recently acquired Castle-gate Business and Science Park.

The council, which purchased a business and science park for £7m last year, believes its new investment portfolio will help it generate a significant stream of independent revenue.