Community activities complement many of PfP’s housing developments
smaller one, but in fact, says Philpott, the deal came about because DC Leisure was actively looking for a company to take it over. “We were looking for the right kind of buyer and approached PfP. When we started to talk to them about it, they absolutely understood the fit and were extremely excited about what we could do together,” he says. “For PfP, it’s about introducing more
activities into its developments to improve the community. Its focus is on developing inspirational places in which people can live and spend their time. We spoke to them about the impact of leisure on a community, with the leisure centre as a real hub, and they realised the value this could bring to their developments.” So are there big changes afoot at DC
Leisure? According to Philpott, yes and no. It may be some time before we see leisure integrated into PfP developments
– for now, joint projects with PfP will amount to “perhaps a couple of gyms a year” – but going forward there will certainly be scope for new ventures. DC Leisure is keen to develop a
May 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
Places for People: The Wolverton Park development in Milton Keynes
community budget club concept, for example – “a smaller-scale offering that can work fi nancially thanks to the new partnership,” says Philpott. PfP’s backing will also mean access to additional capital that will allow DC Leisure to explore other new opportunities, and there is likely to be a rebrand. However, says Philpott: “We’re
very comfortable with what we offer. Although we’re constantly innovating, we don’t need to change what we do to
deliver the expansion of the business. Our fi tness business is performing well, with like-for-like sales up 4 per cent in the last 11 months. Swimming has been particularly strong, up 7 per cent.” He continues: “In terms of our
organisation and the way we’re structured, as well as everyone’s individual roles, it’s pretty much business as usual.” Indeed, the only visible changes following the acquisition have been the replacement of two of
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