JD Gyms muscles in on Blackpool

JD Gyms has signed a lease with Property Alliance Group for 15,000 sq ft at a leisure park near Blackpool. The gym chain has leased a unit at Jubilee Leisure Park in Thornton-Cleveleys for close to the asking rent of £95,000 pa. Jubilee Leisure Park spans four acres and is home to tenants including Vue Cinema and Pizza Hut. It was redeveloped in 2006 by Alliance. JD Gyms has opened 24 gyms in cities across the country including Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds and Liverpool. This month, parent company JD Sports made an offer to buy rival retailer Footasylum for £90.1m, with the cash offer valuing each Footasylum share at 82.3p. Figures from Radius Data Exchange show Footasylum’s portfolio covers 200,000 sq ft across 61 stores in the UK. JD Sports has said that although operational improvements may be possible “due to economies of scale” across the two companies, the conclusion of any restructuring and integration plans for the combined group will be subject to a strategic review. However, it confirmed that it does not intend for the acquisition to affect trading at Footasylum for the 12 months following completion. To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette