AEG Europe and Crosstree Real Estate Partners, a joint venture, have announced the delivery of a further 110,000 sq. ft. of new development at The O2 in London. Anchored around a 50,000 sq. ft. cinema extension for operator Cineworld and a 30,000 sq. ft. trampoline park, leased to Oxygen Freejumping, the project breaks ground in late September.
The Cineworld extension delivers additional screens and once complete will contain the latest 4DX technology as well as the ability to host multiple screenings, premieres and events.
The trampoline park will be the eleventh for Oxygen Freejumping in the UK, and the first of three new sites in and around London that the company is expecting to announce in the coming months, taking its total number of parks around the Capital to five. The park is set to include Bear Grylls Fitness, an innovative indoor obstacle fitness concept designed around the way Grylls keeps fit, as well as hosting a trampolining school; parties and facilities for autistic friendly and disability sessions.
Alistair Wood of AEG Europe, Development Manager for the joint venture stated: “This site, coupled with the ongoing Designer Outlet Village development, will complete the loop of space around The O2 arena. Together they will deliver a further four to five million visitors per annum to The O2 each year.
The cinema has gone from strength to strength since it opened and we are delighted Cineworld are extending their partnership with us. We are also very pleased to have Oxygen on board, the UK’s leading trampoline park operator. Trampolining appeals to a broad demographic and will further diversify the leisure mix offered at The O2, to complement the retail offering which will open in Q4 2018.”
David Stalker, CEO of Oxygen Freejumping, said: “We are delighted to have secured such a high profile and prestigious location for our next trampoline park. The O2 has been voted the number one global entertainment venue for the last 10 consecutive years and is visited by 9 million people annually. This number is expected to rise to over 13 million with the opening of the Designer Outlet Village and the Greenwich peninsula re-generation project.
“At Oxygen, we have welcomed 1.5 million jumpers through our doors since we opened and provide a fun and safe jumping environment and best in class customer experience, in line with our mission to support the Government’s drive to address UK childhood obesity. We look forward to welcoming a new group of jumpers to our new trampoline park at The O2 in the near future.”
Shaun Jones, VP Operations (UK & Ireland) from Cineworld Cinemas, said: “We continually strive to provide cinema-goers with the best possible experience when watching the latest movies. Our commitment to delivering more screens including the latest 4DX and Superscreen technologies gives film fans even more reason to enjoy a trip to the cinema.”
The development adds to the planned 205,000 sq. ft. 90-unit, Designer Outlet Village, already under construction.
Since it opened in 2007, The O2 has become the most popular music and entertainment venue in the world and consistently tops the global rankings for tickets sold. It attracts the world’s biggest music, sporting and entertainment stars and celebrated its 10th anniversary with a series of events in June this year. AEG and O2 announced the renewal of their ground-breaking partnership for the venue in February, securing the name for another 10 years.
Contractor McLaren is to deliver the new development project, which is scheduled to open in Q1 2019. Lloyds Bank plc has extended their existing loan to the AEG and Crosstree joint venture to finance the project.
