Coffer Corporate Leisure has advised David Lloyd Leisure on the forward funding agreement with Knight Frank Investment Management for a new purpose-built racquet’s health & fitness club in Bicester.

The purchase price of £21 million reflected a Net Initial Yield of 4.65%.

A c.62,500 sq ft health club, set to open at the end of 2022, will comprise premium facilities including a state-of-the-art gym, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a 3-court sports hall, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, as well as an indoor spa and an outdoor spa garden. The Club will also benefit from a 246-space car park. The property is to be let on a new commercial lease for a term of 30 years with indexation.

The location of the new David Lloyd club was strategically selected for its location on the A41 link, taking advantage of passing commuter traffic, as well as providing good accessibility to the existing catchment and areas of new housing growth. Bicester is currently undergoing significant residential development with c.10,500 new homes to be added by 2031. David Lloyd Bicester will form part of the ‘Catalyst Bicester’ scheme – a new 290,000 sq ft business park, approximately 650 metres from Bicester Village.

This transaction comes as David Lloyd are experiencing record membership demand, having bounced back to their pre-pandemic levels 7 months ahead of schedule in September 2021.

Mark Sheehan, Managing Director at Coffer Corporate Leisure, said “This was an excellent opportunity to acquire a David Lloyd’s latest health club facility.

The forward fund attracted strong interest and we experienced competitive bidding – reflecting investors’ confidence in the David Lloyd business model. David Lloyd is a beneficiary of more people working from home. The pandemic has clearly fuelled a greater emphasis on health, wellbeing, and fitness, and given David Lloyds quality of offering, focus on family, and suburban locations, David Lloyd and their clubs are well placed to continue performing strongly.”

Coffer Corporate Leisure acted for the Vendor, David Lloyd Leisure. Lewis & Partners acted for the purchaser, Knight Frank Investment Management.