Pictured above: (l-r) Steven Baker of Lodders (left)
with Play Farm chairman Michael Corbett, directors Hannah and
Matthew Brittan and Lodders corporate partner Dale
Williams
It's playtime at Cheltenham for parents and kids alike.
A Play Farm is set to open in the town - a second Midlands
launch for one of the country's youngest leisure brands.
The Cheltenham unit is 5,000 sq ft at The Brewery, Henrietta
Street, and is a new development within a major NFU Mutual leisure
and retail scheme. It is scheduled to open on July 10.
The move has come with help and advice from Stratford-upon-Avon
law firm Lodders led by partners Steven Baker, commercial property,
and Dale Williams, corporate.
The development is the brainchild of leading Midlands
businessman Michael Corbett, a former chief executive of
Birmingham-based property advisers GVA Grimley.
The first Play Farm opened in March at Berrington Road, Sydenham
Industrial Estate, Leamington Spa. It involved buying an existing
business and completely refurbishing the 6,500 sq ft complex.
Mr Corbett - chairman of holding company Play Farm Ltd with his
wife Rosemary as a director - has invested £600,000 and is
set to employ more than 20 full and part-time staff in the two
locations.
Son Tom, a former professional rugby player with Worcester and
Coventry, runs Leamington. Daughter Hannah Brittan and her husband
Matt will manage Cheltenham and the latter, a keen chef, is
masterminding the catering at both locations.
The Play Farm was Hannah's idea and Mr Corbett, whose ten year
tenure at GVA Grimley saw rapid expansion, transforming it into one
of the UK's top seven professional services firms, had been looking
for an opportunity after stepping down in September 2008 as
president and chief executive of GVA Worldwide.
Play Farm is designed in farmyard style though without the
animals. It is a themed play centre for children up to the age of
12.
There are different play zones for babies, toddlers and juniors
with the aim of providing a safe, secure and stimulating
environment. Activities take in the likes of indoor soccer,
aerobics, dressing up, music and a book library. For mum and dad
there is excellent food and drink plus newspapers, and, if work
comes into it, free Wi-Fi.
"The aim is it should be a destination attraction for parents as
well where they can unwind and relax while the kids enjoy the play
experience and run off a bit of steam," said Mr Corbett.
He revealed that Cheltenham had been earmarked as the first to
go live, but it took almost a year to negotiate the lease and clear
the local council.
He said: "Cheltenham is a wonderful city in its own right, it is
a spa town and it is a magnet for visitors from far and wide
around.
"The Brewery is itself an attraction and can pull in more than
14,000 people a day. It is right in the centre and we managed to
obtain a shell unit where we could put all our ideas into practice
including the lessons we have learned from Leamington."
A recent mall promotion put on for the company by NFU Mutual,
taking in a bouncy castle, face painting, donkey rides and
merry-go-rounds, saw 1,000 members sign up along with ten birthday
parties booked and a further 200 inquiries, which Mr Corbett sees
as a vindication of their choice of location.
The Play Farms open from 10am to 6pm every day excluding
Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, with a 2pm close on
Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
Admission fees at Leamington are £1.50 for under ones -
free when accompanying an older sibling - £3.75 at under four
and £4.95 for the 4-12 age group. Entrance fees are for
unlimited stay except during peak times when playtime is restricted
to two hours. Mr Corbett says Cheltenham prices are being finalised
but will be similar.
Children's parties are catered for in particular.
Lodders have handled all the legal arrangements surrounding the
property deals and lease arrangements.
Mr Baker said: "It is a great concept and is already showing its
potential.
"Having young children myself, I'm looking forward to
direct experience of the new centres!"
Mr Corbett is aiming eventually at perhaps another two outlets
elsewhere in the UK.
He is also in discussion with Doncaster-based play structures
manufacturer House of Play about taking the idea into North
America.
For more information about Lodders, please visit their website
here: www.lodders.co.uk