Insight UK CASINO LICENCE
UK property group, Jomast, is awarded the Middlesbrough large casino licence
Middlesbrough’s ‘large’ casino licence hasn’t gone to a casino company, but to a property developer who will build a luxury hotel, a budget hotel, banqueting facilities, restaurants and a multi-storey car park, whilst looking for a casino group to run the gaming floor.
The surprise award to Jomast Developments will see the large casino licence be the catalyst to the major new leisure and entertainment development proposed for the heart of the town centre. However, it is developing on the same site where casino operator Aspers had planned a similar development with a four star hotel forming part of its plan.
Stockton-based Jomast Developments seemingly came from nowhere to win with its proposed £25m development, especially as the only two applicants for stage one of the process were Apollo Resorts, who wanted to build a large casino at Riverside One, a flagship waterfront development, and Aspers who
JOMAST PLANS TO LAUNCH A
MARKETING
CAMPAIGN TO FIND A CASINO
PARTNER, WITH ASPERS IN POLE POSITION.
wanted to develop the licence at Jomast’s chosen site; Gurney House in the centre.
Jomast Developments now plans to launch a ‘marketing campaign’ to find a casino partner, however with its proposals set to transform the vacant Gurney House, the same proposal put forward by Aspers, it would seem the operator run by Damian Aspinall could remain in pole position to land the licence.
Aspers has already opened the nation’s first large licence in Westfield shopping centre in east London and has been awarded the licence for Milton Keynes. Genting will develop a licence at the NEC in Solihull, near Birmingham, whilst the bid to operate in Hull turned into a one- horse race with Apollo the only group interested. Great Yarmouth has also awarded its licence to a non-casino group with the owners of the local Pleasure Beach yet to name how it will bring casino expertise on board.
July 2012 PAGE 34
JOMAST WINS LATEST LARGE UK LICENCE
“We’re delighted to have won the
casino competition
and this will enable us to revitalise this important town centre site. Our
vision is to create a major new, casino- based, leisure and entertainment
destination that will have far reaching benefits for
Middlesbrough.” ADAM HEARLD, Development
Director, Jomast.
The Middlesbrough licence is only one of eight such large casino licences in the UK and the only one north of Leeds. If Aspers had won the Middlesbrough licence it would have scooped half the licences awarded so far, and possibly risked anti- competition claims from rival operators.
Jomast’s Development Director, Adam Hearld, said: “We’re delighted to have won the casino competition and this will enable us to revitalise this important town centre site. Our vision is to create a major new, casino-based, leisure and entertainment destination that will have far reaching benefits for Middlesbrough.”
Councillor Charlie Rooney, Executive Member for Regeneration at Middlesbrough Council, added: “The Council's Licensing Committee resolved to grant Gurney Casino with a Provisional Statement, which it can apply to convert into a large casino licence in due course. The potential for a scheme like this for
the town on the back of the casino license is obviously very exciting and bringing Gurney House back into use after so many years of being empty would be a real achievement. This is a further boost for the town centre alongside recent proposals for the western gateway and new developments on Albert Road.”
Jomast said a number of parties have already expressed interest in the site. A planning application for the scheme is currently being prepared and an extensive public consultation exercise will be undertaken prior to the application being submitted. Jomast Developments hope to commence the first phase of the scheme early next year.
Middlesbrough is located at the centre of the Tees Valley conurbation, which has a population of around 657,000 centred on the River Tees and access to over six million people within a one hour drive of the city.
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