Leisure tycoon and former tennis player David Lloyd has secured the first two sites for his Adrenaline World adventure park concept.
The first site will be in Sandbach, Cheshire, on J17 of the M6. The 18.5-acre site also includes two lakes to be incorporated into the adventure park.
Lloyd estimates that the first Adrenaline World will be open on this site following a six to seven-month build process. Each park is estimated to cost £9m to build, including all equipment and facilities.
Lloyd said: “We have agreed on the name Adrenaline World as there will be more activities than were first imagined, some of which will be on water. We hope to be on site in Sandbach by the middle of Febuary next year.”
The second site, for which full planning has been secured, will be in the £400m Chesterfield resort development Peak Resorts, near Sheffield. The nine-acre site includes woodlands, which will also form part of Adrenaline World’s attractions.
A further nine sites are in the pipeline, including options in Braintree, Dartford, Bedford, Farnham and Blackpool.
Lloyd is still looking for sites, targeting out-of-town locations within a 30-minute drive from populated areas. He will most likely be looking to develop brownfield sites. Each site will need around 10 acres.
All Adrenaline World facilities will include an indoor activity centre that will require an acre as well as a zip wire on which people can circle the building at 50km per hour.
The business is on track to meet its target of opening three parks a year and having 15 by 2021. The overall expansion target is to have as many as 50 parks in the UK.
Lloyd has a 20-year contract with Holmes Investment Properties, which will fund and build the activity centres. Lloyd will be responsible for finding the sites, securing the planning permission, and fit out, as well as management and marketing for each centre. Homes Investment Property will finance the purchase of the land and develop the infrastructure and the shell of the property and will also retain the freeholds.
Lloyd and business partner Martin Helme, chief executive of Holmes Investment Properties, have also launched a new fundraising initiative in the form of a hybrid bond.
They are looking to raise £6m through this vehicle, which will be 50% equity and 50% loan note.
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