Shopping centre owner intu has partnered with events company HYPD to launch a new gaming arena at intu Lakeside, on the periphery of London.
HYPD, which runs gaming attractions at major UK tourist destinations, has transformed a 900 sq ft store into the immersive experience as part of an exclusive 12-month partnership with intu.
HYPD Arena will offer a “celebration of all things gaming”, including an eSports tournament, retro arcades and the latest in virtual reality. It will take place at intu Lakeside from 20 July until 31 August.
The concept is then set to be rolled out at more of intu’s shopping destinations over the next year, capitalising on the rapidly growing eSports industry which is expected to be worth $1 billion this year.
Roger Binks, customer experience director at intu, said: “The gaming industry is experiencing explosive growth and popularity, making intu’s hugely popular, high footfall destinations the ideal locations for this kind of attraction.
“We’ve already invested millions to transform intu Lakeside into a major tourist destination for the south east and this is creating brilliant new opportunities for operators like HYPD who can offer even more compelling experiences for the increasing number of people visiting the centre.”
Chris Haydon, chief operating officer, HYPD said: “We are extremely excited to bring HYPD Arena to intu Lakeside this summer. With such a dynamic range of gameplay options for customers to enjoy, we believe this will be a huge hit and we cannot wait to share this amazing experience with our players. I’d very much like to thank intu for their continued support of this initiative. Together we can deliver a truly unforgettable attraction.”
HYPD Arena will open at intu Lakeside as a number of other attractions also launch there for the first time within the centre’s new £72 million leisure extension. Family entertainment centre Nickelodeon Adventure and indoor mini golf experience Puttshack are among operators to have signed up, alongside Hollywood Bowl, trampolining operator Flip Out and new food hall concept The Hall.
RPA Perspective Separately, intu Properties has completed the sale of 50% stake in its Derby shopping centre to Kuwaiti-backed Cale Street Investments. The closing of the transaction was subject to completing a senior debt financing of the centre and certain other completion conditions, including €166.7m new debt financing that was raised in the joint venture with Deutsche Bank.
The consideration amounted to €121.2m, after working capital adjustments. Intu will continue to manage the centre on behalf of the joint venture and receive asset management and brand licence fees for this, further enhancing Intu’s return from the transaction.
Matthew Roberts, chief executive of Intu, said: “We are pleased to complete this innovative joint venture transaction in what is a challenging investment market in the UK. Cale Street’s equity represents a flexible and cheaper source of capital than intu’s own equity and other private equity financing sources considering investing in UK shopping centres today. This reduced cost is achieved in exchange for a priority of distributions to Cale Street. Whilst the transaction is earnings dilutive, the part-disposal of Intu Derby is evidence of our strategy to reduce debt through disposals and part-disposals both in the UK and Spain and the transaction crystallises value significantly above the look-through value of Intu Derby implied by the current share price.”
