With sunny weather bringing record numbers of tourists to the UK in the summer, retailers and leisure businesses in seaside towns especially will be looking forward to 2014 and hoping to build on these positive foundations and encourage growth in regional areas.
One lucrative investment for those keen to capitalize on Britain’s booming tourism industry has already seen strong interest in the few days it has been on the commercial property market.
Paignton Pier has a price tag of £2 million and, with the right investment, could see investors make strong returns on their purchase.
Owner Mitchell Leisure has appointed property firm GVA to seal the deal with the eventual buyer, and the firm is keen to pass on the unique property as a going interest – meaning that any buyer will already have 15 concessionary brands including an arcade and numerous sweet shops and ice cream stalls in place.
Richard Baldwin, of GVA, says; “Paignton Pier is an iconic structure which has been a popular visitor attraction on the English Riviera for millions of people for more than 130 years.
“Surrounded by stunning coast and countryside, it is a real jewel in the crown of our coastline.”
The original pier was officially opened in June 1879 but had to be rebuilt after a fire destroyed all but the foundations in a fire during 1919. Since then, the 780 foot structure has undergone a major refurbishment by the present owners when they bought the pier in 1994 and underwent structural works on a supporting column in 2008 after a fault was discovered.
One of the conditions of the sale is that the buyer will be responsible for the maintenance of the public right of way which runs along Paignton Sands. The beach underpass could also play a role in helping to attract visitors to the pier, allowing for a lot of scope for a creative investor.
Piers have historically played an integral role in the tourism industry of seaside towns with both Brighton and Blackpool managing to capitalize on their own structures by establishing famous fairgrounds and visitor attractions. A buyer with a keen eye for investment could not only see their own return grow with a little refurbishment, therefore – they could also create economic growth in Paignton and the surrounding areas as well.
According to data held by the National Piers Society, around 100 piers were built in Britain during the Victorian era, but only 50 or so of these now remain. It is therefore important to preserve this iconic piece of history and perhaps use it as a tool to profit the residents of Paignton and the overall British tourism industry in time for summer 2014.
