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25/01/2007
EC&O Venues (Earls Court and Olympia Group) has made a further two property asset disposals, increasing the company’s returns on its acquisition of the Brewery in 2005, and providing a new leisure facility for Olympia Exhibition Centre.
The first of the two deals is the disposal of the penultimate tranche of property adjacent to EC&O Venues’ City of London conference and banqueting site, the Brewery. The sale of the part of the property known as Sundial Court to Scotswood Holdings Ltd for £9.5m brings the running total of proceeds raised from the £55m Brewery acquisition to over £75m – in addition EC&O Venues retains full control of the Brewery venue.
The second deal is with ARK Leisure Management, an operator of upmarket fitness centres, (including one in the More London development) which has agreed to purchase the leasehold of a four storey building known as the Graphic Design Building to the rear of the Olympia Exhibition Centre site, and develop it into a luxury fitness centre under the ‘37º’ brand.
The deal will facilitate investment in the revitalisation of the area immediately surrounding the building and is the first step in bringing additional leisure facilities to all of the venues. Plans also include a small casino at Earls Court and restaurant and hotel developments at Olympia.
Anthony Lyons, Chief Executive, EC&O Venues, said that both the deals were the product of lengthy negotiation and hard work, but delivered a real end result for the company.
“The disposal at our City site of one of the last remaining pieces of the package acquired from Whitbread means that, in just over a year, the company has realised in the region of £20m above the value of the acquisition and we’re left with one of London’s leading venues, which goes from strength to strength. "Part of my vision for EC&O Venues has been to add an extra dimension to the venues by including extra leisure facilities that can be enjoyed by our customers and the general public alike. Not only will this increase interest in the venues and draw people in, it will also facilitate investment in the existing infrastructure and services making us more ‘fit for purpose’ in a rapidly changing events market place. Our agreement with ARK, and the deal we are close to completing with a major hotel operator, do exactly that.”
“The disposal at our City site of one of the last remaining pieces of the package acquired from Whitbread means that, in just over a year, the company has realised in the region of £20m above the value of the acquisition and we’re left with one of London’s leading venues, which goes from strength to strength.
"Part of my vision for EC&O Venues has been to add an extra dimension to the venues by including extra leisure facilities that can be enjoyed by our customers and the general public alike. Not only will this increase interest in the venues and draw people in, it will also facilitate investment in the existing infrastructure and services making us more ‘fit for purpose’ in a rapidly changing events market place. Our agreement with ARK, and the deal we are close to completing with a major hotel operator, do exactly that.”
-ends-
Jeremy Probert, Director of Communications
jeremy.probert@eco.co.uk / 020 7370 8037
www.eco.co.uk
EC&O Venues is the UK’s premier event venue manager. The business comprises Earls Court, Olympia and the Brewery, London’s leading venues for exhibitions, conferences and special events. The three venues hold over 1000 events each year, attracting over 3 million visitors and 30,000 exhibiting companies.