Development Securities acquires leading leisure attraction in Manchester for €19.3 million (UK)

Development Securities today announces that it has expanded its investment portfolio through the £15.5 million acquisition of Extreme Cool Limited (ECL), the Company that owns and operates Chill Factore, a 167,000 ft² (15.514 m²) ski slope and activity center in Manchester.
The acquisition was completed in a joint venture with Pemberstone Investments Limited (PIL), an existing ECL shareholder, and was partly financed with a £10.5 million (€13.5 mln) debt facility from ICG-Longbow.
Completed in November 2007, the venue incorporates a 180 m indoor real snow ski slope, the longest in the UK; a climbing wall and 16 retail and restaurant units. Current occupancy rates are high at 94% by floor area with tenants including Nando’s, Snow and Rock, Evans Cycles and JD Wetherspoons. In total, revenues from the ski slope and retail units will generate an income to Development Securities of approx. £1.5 million (€1.9 mln) per annum.
Located less than 4 miles from Manchester city center next to J10 of the M60 motorway, Chill Factore is the anchor tenant in the Trafford Quays Leisure Village, a popular mixed-use leisure and retail destination adjacent to Intu Trafford Centre. The venue currently attracts between 1.2 million and 1.4 million visitors per year.
Matthew Weiner, Development Securities PLC, said: “Chill Factore is a very popular leisure destination in Manchester with a wide catchment area, a loyal customer base and good brand recognition. Drawing on our experience and success in managing real estate based operational businesses such as the Manchester Arena, we are confident that alongside our joint venture partners, we can improve footfall, attract additional tenants and drive rental income to increase the value of this popular venue.
“Over the past year, we have disposed of a number of mature investment assets and we continue to focus our reinvestment activities on convenience retail schemes and alternative investment assets such as these where we can add value through our asset management and enhancement activities.”
Livingstone partners advised the vendors on the transaction.
Source: Development Securities