Whilst the UK Bingo news has been pleasantly filled with stories of expensive refurbishments and big money wins, reminders of the fragile state of the UK bingo industry are never far away.
This week saw the surprise news that a historic bingo hall on the UK’s east coast has been put up for sale.
Specialist leisure property adviser, Christie & Co, has been instructed to sell the Palace Cinema and Bingo Hall in Felixstowe, Suffolk, together with sister business the Palace Cinema in Gorleston, Great Yarmouth.
They are available either individually or as a package and are offered for sale as going concerns, with opportunities for new owners to further develop and build on the existing trade.
The Felixstowe property is for sale with offers in the region of £700,000, whilst the Gorleston property, which underwent considerable renovation in 2017, is for sale with offers in the region of £500,000
Both properties are freehold Art Deco buildings in high-profile positions in the towns and have been owned by Palatial Leisure since the mid-to-late 1990s.
The popular bingo club in the port town of Felixstowe first opened as a cinema in 1937, seating 959. It was then converted into a bingo hall in 1963. In the 1970s, the balcony was converted back into a cinema after the town’s other cinema closed.
Now, along with bingo and casino, there are two screens, one with 150 seats and the other with 90.
Reducing the Workload, Investment, and Buyers’ Opportunity
Patrick Duffy, Managing Director at Palatial Leisure Limited, said of the surprise sales:
“I’ve been in the leisure, entertainment and gaming business for over 50 years, and the time is now right that I look towards reducing my workload, hence the decision to sell our Felixstowe and Gorleston properties.
At the same time, we are making considerable investment into our principal asset, The Great Yarmouth Palace, which has the benefit of a 1968 gaming licence, particularly in preparation for the new regulations which come in to play in July, given our ability to capitalise on the sports betting slots allowance. We’re also introducing a Novovision casino management system to ensure we are state-of-the-art when it comes to security, data integrity and regulatory compliance.”
Lewis Last, Associate Director – Leisure & Retail at Christie & Co, handling the sale, added:
“Opportunities like this are comparatively rare in the leisure market, especially the potential to own the freehold interest in both sites, when so many cinema and gaming businesses are held on leases. We anticipate that interest is likely to come from a broad range of potential buyers within the leisure industry, as well as developers and investors, and being able to offer the properties individually or as a package provides additional flexibility.”
One former employee of the Palace Cinema Feliexstowe shared on social media:
BingoDaily has reached out to Patrick Duffy for comment and shall update the article accordingly.
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