Expanding property firm buys its first golf facility

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir March 7, 2018 07:50

A property firm that is creating a number of adventure parks around the UK has bought a driving range and adventure golf course in London for £500,000.

Holmes Investment Properties Plc (HIP), which last year teamed up with leisure entrepreneur David Lloyd to build four £7 million, 60,000 square foot, sites each year over the next five years, has purchased Ashtour in south-east London, creating HIP’s first open leisure venue.

The range comprises 24 bays and the adventure golf course is 18 holes. There is also an American Golf retail outlet on site. Ashtour has been consistently profitable, delivering a six-figure profit in 2017.

Grant Wright, now managing director of HIP Entertainment, and senior manager at HIP, owned Ashtour. The management of the Ashtour site in London will be integrated into the company’s HIP Entertainment subsidiary.

Martin Helme, CEO said: “Ashtour is the perfect fit for HIP for many reasons. Firstly, we have bought a going concern with cash flow and on-going profit. Secondly, we are bringing on board a professional team of leisure specialists, who will help us expand our current business. Thirdly, some of the elements of the Ashtour site – in particular, the adventure golf activity – will now be expanded into many of our forthcoming leisure centres. The Ashtour purchase is part of our published plan to open 12 leisure venues over five years, and we are delighted to welcome the Ashtour staff to the Holmes family.”

Grant Wright

Grant Wright added: “I am very excited about this synergistic opportunity. This purchase allows HIP to merge its activities with Ashtour, bringing experience, expertise, cash flow and profit. The purchase of Ashtour brings HIP its first fully functioning leisure site and ensures the venue roll out schedule is on plan. We have ambitious plans for the site and we aim to invest in an effort to boost revenue for future years.”

 

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir March 7, 2018 07:50
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1 Comment

  1. Jean March 7, 23:16

    Shame they didn’t invest in the existing golf course in beautiful surroundings in Beckenham Place Park which was forced to close by Lewisham last year … or perhaps their offer, as many others, was turned down …

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