Leisure Industry News - July 2025

Our July review explores the evolving landscape of the UK leisure industry, spotlighting transformation, investment, and opportunity. 

This month’s highlights range from golf clubs and spa resorts unveiling high-end upgrades, to hotel and holiday park developments reshaping the hospitality sector. While some operators are seeking new ownership, others are expanding their footprints or reviving long-closed venues.

Here’s a closer look at the key stories shaping the UK leisure scene this month...

• Celtic Holiday Parks, a UK holiday park company operating three resorts in Pembrokeshire (Noble Court Holiday Park, Meadow House Holiday Park, and Croft Country Park), has entered administration and is seeking a buyer, though all parks will continue to operate normally with jobs currently secure.

• Larkfield Holiday Park in Burton Bradstock is seeking Dorset Council's approval to introduce seven new luxury holiday lodges, along with an additional 18 car parking spaces and new access routes, within and adjacent to its existing Bredy Road site.

• Frilford Heath Golf Club in Oxfordshire has invested £1.5 million in significant upgrades to its clubhouse, including a new 18-seat boardroom, and its three championship golf courses (Red, Green, and Blue), featuring fully renovated bunkers and new irrigation systems, aiming to solidify its status as a top English golf destination.

• Whitbread, owner of Premier Inn, has started enabling works on a £200 million Hub by Premier Inn development at 5 Strand, a 693-bedroom hotel near Trafalgar Square in central London, expected to open in autumn 2028.

• Developers have revealed plans for a £20 million redevelopment of Newquay's landmark Hotel Victoria and neighbouring buildings, aiming to create around 100 new jobs. The proposals include a four to five-star hotel and 77 new apartments on the site of the former hotel, which closed last November.

• Concordia Leisure Centre in Cramlington, Northumberland, is set to undergo a £500,000 upgrade to replace its aging and leaking flat roof, covering the bowling alley, bar, and studios.

• A petition is underway to reopen and restore The Elephant, a Coventry city centre leisure complex built in the 1970s and closed in February 2020 due to rising maintenance costs. The site reportedly still costs Coventry City Council around £400,000 annually to maintain.

• Everybody Health and Leisure, a charity managing facilities for Cheshire East Council, has acquired the Simply Gym site in Crewe. The location will be rebranded as Everybody @ Crewe West, becoming the charity's third health club in the town, with existing staff and membership rates remaining.

• Hamilton College has been shortlisted for a prestigious Independent Schools of the Year Award in the Performing Arts category, marking the first time the school has received this specific recognition after being shortlisted for Student Wellbeing three years ago.



• Gleddoch Golf & Spa Resort in Scotland has unveiled the multi-million-pound transformation of its Imperia Spa. Wanting to bring a new era of luxury spa experiences to Scotland, the upgrade includes one of the UK's largest outdoor saunas.