A new face on the London casino scene

The historic London Hippodrome in the heart of the West End is set to receive a £15 million investment to refurbish many original features and restore it to its former glory, to create the capital’s largest new casino.

The deteriorating Grade II listed building is undergoing a total refurbishment that will see it emerge as one of the UK’s premier entertainment destinations with a world-class casino, fine dining and live entertainment. The location of the Hippodrome has been described as the best in the UK for such a venue, due to its proximity to Leicester Square and the massive footfall.

The new casino will be the largest in London, with the most comprehensive leisure offer. The 74,250 sq ft venue is due to open in early 2011 and will lead the next generation of gaming in the UK. It will complete the regeneration of Leicester Square as one of Europe’s premier leisure destinations.

Behind the scheme are Simon Thomas and his father Jimmy, who have recently announced that they have successfully concluded a deal to buy out their consortium partners Mike Pemberton, Eddie Fairless and leisure operators Jon and Harry Shipley, to undertake the development on their own. The Thomas family are highly regarded in the gaming industry, having sold their Beacon Bingo business three years ago for £80m.

Simon Thomas, Chairman of United Leisure Gaming Ltd - the company behind the redevelopment - comments: “This is a flagship development for London and we are recreating The Hippodrome as a world-class venue. Having successfully developed the project to this stage as part of a consortium, and achieved all the necessary permits and licenses, my father and I decided that we would like to see through the redevelopment as the sole operator and see through our plans to launch what is destined to become one of Europe’s top entertainment venues.”

On the sale of their shareholding Harry Shipley comments: “The Hippodrome redevelopment is a wonderful project and my brother and I are proud to have been part of the consortium that has brought it so far. We would love to have seen it through to the end but, to use a cliché; we received an offer that we couldn’t refuse! Most importantly, we believe that the Thomas family’s unerring passion and commitment to this venture will ensure that our mutual vision becomes a reality, which will be much to the benefit and enjoyment of visitors to the West End.”

Due to new industry regulations the Casino market in London is undergoing a period of unprecedented change. Historically it has been polarised between provision for ‘High Rollers’ such as Aspinalls and Les Ambassadeurs and the more mass market offerings such as The Golden Nugget and Napoleons. Thomas explains: “The trading formats for gaming clubs have remained largely unaltered for the last fifteen years but the new regulations allow for much more attractive casinos with a wider range of attractions, and it is fabulous to have a large site in the centre of London to be able to offer so much in one venue.

David Batchelor, Senior Director at CB Richard Ellis and Advisor on the Hippodrome project is bullish: “If any site is capable of breaking new ground in the London gaming market it is the Hippodrome. Combining a fast changing operational market with the pedigree and track record of the Thomas family means that we could well see the London gaming market revolutionised over the next few years."

The addition of a management team that is at the forefront of innovation in the gaming industry for over thirty years will totally change the London casino landscape and set the benchmark for the rest of the market to follow.

“Whilst there are some obvious differences between Bingo and Casino products, there are huge similarities in the evolution of these industries and in mass market gaming-led entertainment,” observes Thomas. “We are extremely confident and excited by the opportunity to apply our experience to the Hippodrome Casino and take the industry a leap forward, as we did with the Bingo industry in the last decade.”