Cineworld signs up as Resorts World Birmingham takes shape
May 22, 2014 05:30 By Graeme Brown
Cinema giant Cineworld has become the latest major name to sign up with less than a year to go until Resorts World Birmingham opens its doors.
A new 11-screen cinema, including IMAX and 3D screens, will form part of Western Europe’s largest leisure development after a deal was agreed with the British chain.
The line-up at the Genting UK development is starting to become more clear with The Vox, a 900-delegate conference centre, being announced earlier this month.
The £150 million Resorts World development will create 1,150 jobs when it opens next spring and will also feature a four-star hotel, 51 shops and 12 restaurant units.
The work is taking place while talks continue to sell the NEC Group and Genting UK president Peter Brooks said it will be a metamorphic phase for that part of the region.
“We will be transformative in the history of the NEC and now there will be new owners,” Mr Brooks told the Post.
“I have no doubt that some new investor coming in will recognise that. Having a new owner will mean more capacity to invest, so it is a positive thing.
“It is going to be fantastic. What is striking about it is it will be the largest private-sector leisure investment in the UK for a long time.
“It will be the biggest leisure and entertainment destination in the UK and the whole of Western Europe, and unique, as it complements the NEC as well.”
The leisure complex will become the first of its kind in the UK when it opens, with sister sites in Manila, New York and Singapore.
Part of the building is starting to be clad, with the major construction work over, while hundreds of square feet of retail space are being shaped on the lower floors.
In all, there will be 51 retail units, expected to be largely designer outlets. With Genting synonymous with casinos the development has perhaps become best known for that, but in fact it takes up about a tenth of the total floorspace.
Elsewhere, work is taking place on 12 restaurant units – including five directly next to the lake, the 1,500-seat cinema, an Asian-themed Spa, gym with 15-metre pool, and the hotel with 170 four-star rooms and five five-star suites. There will also be a Champagne bar, sky bar and sports bar with 14 screens.
Mr Brooks said the first focus was to attract a large share of the three million people passing through the NEC every year.
He said: “We are counting on a very high network of visitors on a regular basis. The casino is only a small part of the footfall – there is a range of experiences that will be new to a lot of people between one and two hours from here.
“Then you already have the footfall from the exhibitions, which is something like two million people, and the organisers, which is another million, as well as international visitors through the airport. There is going to be a real mix.”
Mr Brooks declined to comment when asked if Genting might consider bidding for the NEC Group, which was put on sale by the council earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Birmingham Airport staff have been promoting the resort in China, with the blend of outlet stores and a major casino expected to sell well in the Far East.
“This is a real step forward in selling Birmingham,” Mr Brooks said.
“The timing of it is good in the sense that we are no longer in the teeth of the recession, the market is picking up and we are getting flights from China kicking off this summer, with a lot of work in the background to make them permanent.
“There is a buzz about the place.”
He added: “There will be outlet stores, but it won’t be like Bicester.
“Bicester doesn’t have the food and beverage offer. It is similar in some ways, but there will be a lot more than shopping.”
Work has taken place to identify a target market for Resorts World, and found aspirational people between the ages of 25 and 40 were the sweet spot.
Mr Brooks said he had spoken with prime minister David Cameron about the plans, adding: “I had the chance to explain to him about it, and what we are doing here, and he was very excited about it.”
The work on the NEC site is being headed by Barry Clemo, the complex operations director.
Mr Clemo said Genting was in talks with both international and local restaurant groups about the dozens of units, but would not expect to start unveiling them until autumn at the earliest.
He said: “We have already had a lot of interest in the units. We are close with half a dozen, but we’d only expect to start agreeing on the retail units towards the end of the year.
“But there is certainly a huge amount of interest already.”
He added: “We have lots of food and beverage operators interested in this area particularly.
“With the seats outside overlooking the lake it will be a nice place to eat.”
Mr Clemo said he expected the development to have a major impact on the local economy, with 1,150 jobs being created. He said work was taking place to try to ensure they are filled by local people. He said a key part of the work was to take advantage of the three million-strong footfall already passing through the NEC.
He said: “The ethos is that we are part of the NEC campus, and I want to make sure that everything works together. So you will be able to book everything in one call – if you want to watch a show, book 10 people into the champagne bar and stay in the hotel that is one call.
“We think we will drive more excitement in the area.”
