Hollywood Bowl to roll in to shopping centre

Sovereign Centros has announced that Hollywood Bowl, the UK’s largest ten-bowling operator, has signed up to its Merry Hill shopping centre.

Set to open in 2023, Hollywood Bowl will offer 36,000 sq ft space on the destination’s upper level.

It will feature 24 dedicated bowling lanes, including exclusive VIP lanes.

Hollywood Bowl’s Merry Hill launch will mark its 65th location.

Laurence Keen, CFO at Hollywood Bowl, said: “We are delighted to be opening at Merry Hill, a truly dynamic retail and leisure destination with so much to offer to consumers, which forms an important step for us in our brand journey as we open more new centres in high-quality locations across the country. Consumers are increasingly demanding 360-degree leisure options within their local areas, and Merry Hill is responding to this demand by welcoming us to their all-encompassing, community-focused destination at the heart of the West Midlands. We can’t wait to welcome new customers to the centre in 2023.”

Jack Gordon, senior asset manager at Sovereign Centros, added: “The signing of Hollywood Bowl is a significant milestone for the destination as a whole, not least because it heralds in a new era of exciting leisure opportunity at Merry Hill. We have seen significant organic growth within the sector over the past 12 months and recognise the strong consumer demand for more experiential operators, to which the signing of Hollywood Bowl directly responds to, creating a more holistic offer for all Merry Hill visitors.”

This news follows the recent opening of German Doner Kebab at Merry Hill’s specific F&B zone, Eat Central. It joined the likes of Five Guys, Chopstix, Nandos and Burrito-Kitchen.

Hollywood Bowl will also join Ted Baker, which is set to open at Merry Hill later this year, marking more than 140,000 sq ft of brand commitment since the start of 2022.

JLL and Time Retail Partners represent Merry Hill. Bruce Gillingham Pollard acted for Hollywood Bowl.