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First Leisure Corporation
{{primary sources, date=January 2011 First Leisure Corporation plc was a leisure operator in the United Kingdom active between 1981 and 2004. Originally based in Soho Square, London, and with other offices in Blackpool and Leicester, its operations included Blackpool Tower, the town's Winter Gardens and all three Blackpool piers, as well as five other piers, health and fitness clubs, nightclubs and bars, tenpin bowling centres and other mainstream UK high street entertainment venues. In 2000, a management buyout (MBO) led by Candover and supported by 3i and PPM Ventures saw First Leisure shed all but its Nightclubs and Bars division, which retained the First Leisure brand and consisted of approximately fifty mainstream high street venues. The MBO saw the company de-listing from the stock exchange (whilst retaining its plc status) and moving its operations to Leicester. At that time, the Health and Fitness chain was spun off as Esporta. By 2004, the company had shrunk its operati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackpool Tower
Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the List of tallest buildings in the British Empire and the Commonwealth, tallest man made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it is tall and is the 125th-tallest freestanding tower in the world. Blackpool Tower is also the common name for the Tower Buildings, an entertainment complex in a red-brick three-storey block that comprises the tower, Tower Circus, the Tower Ballroom, and roof gardens, which was designated a Listed building, Grade I listed building in 1973. Background The Blackpool Tower Company was founded by London-based Standard Contract & Debenture Corporation in 1890; it bought an aquarium on Central Promenade with the intention of building a replica Eiffel Tower on the site. John Bickerstaffe, a former mayor of Blackpool, was asked to become chairman of the new company, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter Gardens, Blackpool
The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which includes a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities. Opened in 1878, it is a Listed building, Grade II* listed building, operated by Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited on behalf of Blackpool Council, which purchased the property from Leisure Parcs Ltd as part of a £40 million deal in 2010. The Winter Gardens has hosted the annual conferences of British political parties and trade unions and its owners claim that every Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister since World War II has addressed an audience at the venue. It has also hosted the Blackpool Dance Festival since its inception in 1920, and the World Matchplay (darts), World Matchplay darts tournament since 1994. The annual dance competitions Miss Dance of Great Britain and Dance Master UK are hosted there annually. History The Winter Gardens Company bought the site in 1875 for £28,000. The Winter Gardens was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National Forest, England, National Forest. It is situated to the north-east of Birmingham and Coventry, south of Nottingham and west of Peterborough. The population size has increased by 38,800 ( 11.8%) from around 329,800 in 2011 to 368,600 in 2021 making it the most populous municipality in the East Midlands region. The associated Urban area#United Kingdom, urban area is also the 11th most populous in England and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 13th most populous in the United Kingdom. Leicester is at the intersection of two railway lines: the Midland Main Line and the Birmingham to London Stansted Airport line. It is also at the confluence of the M1 motorway, M1/M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Esporta Health Clubs
Esporta Health & Fitness Clubs (usually known as just Esporta) was a chain of health clubs in the United Kingdom, which also once owned clubs in Spain. The clubs offered a wide variety of different fitness facilities, including gyms, swimming pools and courts for racquet sports. In addition they offered a choice of bar food and drinks, spa treatments and live sporting coverage. On 26 April 2011, after two years of ownership, Société Générale confirmed that it had agreed to sell its Esporta health, fitness and racquets clubs to Virgin Active for £77.5m. History After expanding quickly, in 2004 the firm announced their six Spanish clubs were up for sale. Selling all six in 2005, they sold seven UK locations to Virgin Active Virgin Active is a chain of health clubs in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Italy, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom. History Virgin Active was founded in 1999. Their first club opened in Preston, Lancashire that year. I ...: Birm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luminar Leisure
Rekom UK (formerly The Deltic Group Limited & The Luminar Group Ltd.) is a private company with an estate of 46 nightclubs and has the largest square footage of nightclub capacity in the United Kingdom. History Luminar Group Holdings plc was established in 1988, with the opening of its first nightclub, Manhattan Nitespot in King's Lynn, Norfolk. The continued growth in the discotheque division and the creation of the popular Chicago Rock Cafe concept meant Luminar became a successful leisure company of the early 1990s. It floated on the stock exchange in May 1996. There was a large expansion of Chicago Rock Cafes in the late 1990s. Luminar also ran and owned a couple of themed Australian restaurants, Tuckers Smokehouse, which opened at Kettering in Northamptonshire and Chelmsford in Essex. From August 1999 there were discussions with Northern Leisure about a possible merger. In November 1999, Luminar bought twenty nightclubs and seven bars from Allied Leisure for £34m. Lumina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernard Delfont
Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (born Boris Winogradsky; 5 September 1909 – 28 July 1994) was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario. Life and career Delfont was born in Tokmak, Berdyansky Uyezd, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine), the second son of Isaac and Olga Winogradsky, a Jewish family. His brothers, Lew Grade and Leslie Grade, also entered show business and formed the Grade Organisation. Their sister, Rita Grade, later wrote a book about the family called ''My Fabulous Brothers''. In 1912, the family moved to the East End of London and at age 12, Delfont left school and followed Lew into music halls and changed his name to Delfont to avoid confusion with his brother, forming a dance partnership with comic Hal Monty called The Delfont Boys. He later formed another dance partnership called Delfont & Toko. In 1937 he stopped dancing and again followed Lew in becoming an agent and impresario. During World War II Delfont became involved in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
