Leisure and wedding venue sold with plans for £5m investment

Lakeside, the former north Nottinghamshire pumping station which was turned into a wedding venue, restaurant and leisure facility, has been sold to a local entrepreneur in a deal brokered by Christie & Co.

The site has been bought by local businessman Richard Berridge, who says he wants to invest in the property and reopen it as a hospitality business.

In December 2017 a group of East Midlands entrepreneurs, led by hospitality and leisure consultant David Waycot, bought the Lakeside and said the wanted to create a five star luxury venue. However, just eight months later, it was back on the market for £1.25m.

Berridge said: “Lakeside is a beautiful property that has unfortunately fallen into disrepair over the past couple of years. Our intention is to invest in excess of £5m to refurbish the property back to its former glory.

“Work is well underway already to turn Lakeside into a large wedding venue, along with a bar/restaurant with hospitality facilities. One thing which we are very keen to do as part of the refurbishment is to open the tower for viewing, as having personally climbed the 75 steps to the top I can certainly say the views are amazing. If there are no significant delays the plan is to re-open towards the end of Autumn 2020.”

The venue has been sold with the benefit of planning for a 29-bedroom hotel development.

Gavin Webb, senior business agent at Christie & Co, said: “I was impressed by the enthusiasm shown by Richard and his obvious passion to secure the venue and restore it to its former glory. We received a significant amount of interest in this site throughout the marketing process and I am delighted to have achieved a positive outcome for my client.

“This underlines the demand in the market for hospitality opportunities around Nottingham.”