Chesterfield Borough Council has announced plans to build a £10m leisure centre at Middlecroft, including sports hall, swimming pool and spa. [31-Dec-2002]
Anglesey Boat Company expects to start work late next year on the development of a £7m marina on the Menai Strait, and has also announced plans for another marina development at Goodwick Harbour, Fishguard. [31-Dec-2002]
Sandwell Council is looking to transform Sandwell Valley Country Park into a national tourist attraction, including a rare breed centre, an improved museum and a water sports centre. [31-Dec-2002]
Lincoln City Council has announced a £1.8m plan to boost tourism in the city, and computer terminals will be set up at many of the visitor attractions. [31-Dec-2002]
Swansea Council has approved plans from Brunswick Mansford for the construction of a £31m hotel on Wind Street by summer 2004. [24-Dec-2002]
Topnotch has sold its health club in Derby to Horizons Health & Leisure for £1m. [23-Dec-2002]
Bournemouth Borough Council is planning to build a £2.4m education and visitor centre at Hengistbury Head. [23-Dec-2002]
Cambridge City Council is to consider plans from BDL Hotels for the construction of a £4m Express by Holiday Inn hotel at Coldham's Lane. [20-Dec-2002]
Bristol City Council has allocated almost £7m to three arts and leisure projects, including the redevelopment of Colston Hall, a 10,000-seat arena near Temple Meads and a revamp of the Arnolfini Gallery arts centre. [20-Dec-2002]
Marylebone Warwick Balfour is to sell its leisure property fund management business to Capital & Regional Properties for £30m. [20-Dec-2002]
Macdonald Hotels expects to start work on a £25m project to transform the Aviemore highland resort in 2003, including a pool, health spa, conference centre, cinema and hotel. [19-Dec-2002]
Greenwich Council is to consider plans from the Meridian Delta consortium for the £200m redevelopment of the 190-acre Millennium Dome site, including the creation of a 26,000-seat arena, 10,000 new homes, shops and a hotel. [19-Dec-2002]
Compass is to sell its 220 Travelodge hotels and 368 Little Chef restaurants to private equity group Permira for £712m. [19-Dec-2002]
The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum is planning a £13m refurbishment programme, and SVM has been appointed consulting engineer. [19-Dec-2002]
Sheffield City Council has approved plans from developers Ask and Gleeson for a £25m leisure complex on Leopold Street, including restaurants, bars, hotel and a public square. [18-Dec-2002]
MyTravel has sold its Sunway Travel coach holidays business to a management buy-out backed by 3i for £22m. [18-Dec-2002]
Penta Capital is supporting a management buy-in at Out of Town Restaurants, the operator of shopping centre food courts with 1,500 staff. [18-Dec-2002]
Matfen Hall, the Northumberland-based stately home hotel, is planning a £4m expansion, in order to improve leisure and conference facilities and create 30 jobs. [17-Dec-2002]
Bourne Leisure and Rokbuild have started work on a £3.3m expansion project at the Devon Cliffs Holiday Park in Exmouth, in order to create an enlarged family entertainment centre. [17-Dec-2002]
Nuneaton Borough is to submit plans to build a new 6,000-capacity football stadium on a 12-acre site in Liberty Way by August 2004. [16-Dec-2002]
MJ Gleeson has won a £20m contract from the Unity Academy Trust to build a £20m learning academy in East Middlesbrough, including sports facilities and a performing arts studio. [16-Dec-2002]
Installation Technologies, the supplier of audio visual equipment for leisure clubs, has set up a new headquarters at Upper Heyford in Oxfordshire, and plans to increase its workforce from 30 to 70. [12-Dec-2002]
Duke Street Capital is to acquire Sporting Index, the sports spread betting company, for £53m. [11-Dec-2002]
Punch Pub Company is to acquire 34 nationwide pubs from Spirit Group for £13m, taking its total estate to 4,418. [10-Dec-2002]
Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral is to undergo a £10m refurbishment programme, including a new restaurant, education and conference facilities. [10-Dec-2002]
Milton Keynes Borough Council is to consider plans from Gaming International to build a greyhound stadium, car auction and open air market at Elfield Park. [10-Dec-2002]
The Tumbledown Farm tourist attraction in Melton Mowbray has been acquired by the owners of the Woodlands Leisure Park in Devon for £2m, and 45 jobs will be created when the site is reopened under the new name of Twinlakes Park next summer. [09-Dec-2002]
Aberdeen City Council is backing plans from the newly-formed Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group for the development of a multi-million pound renewable energy tourist attraction on the seafront. [09-Dec-2002]
SFI is considering plans to sell its chain of 30 Bar Med high street bars, in order to raise about £30m to reduce debt. [09-Dec-2002]
Cardiff City has announced plans to build a £100m 60,000-capacity football stadium on a 62-acre site opposite its existing home, including a hotel and conference facilities. [06-Dec-2002]
Southampton City Council has revealed plans for the £13m revamp of the city's outdoor Sports Centre, in order to provide an indoor athletics centre and improved spectator and catering facilities. [06-Dec-2002]
Stanley Leisure is linking up with Hg Capital to launch a £250m bid for casino operator London Clubs International. [05-Dec-2002]
Neath Port Talbot Council has approved plans from F&P Developments for the development of a £100m holiday village and leisure complex in the Afan Valley, including dry ski slope, hotel, golf and central glass dome. [04-Dec-2002]
Aintree Racecourse has submitted plans for the development of a £4m indoor riding centre. [04-Dec-2002]
The Isle of Man Parliament has unveiled plans for a new ice rink, as part of the £35m Summerland hotel project. [04-Dec-2002]
South Lakeland Caravans has acquired Lake District Leisure Pursuits, the operator of three caravan parks in Cumbria, for £16m. [04-Dec-2002]
Gala, the bingo club and casino operator, has received a £1.2bn takeover approach from private equity groups Cinven and Candover. [04-Dec-2002]
Macdonald Hotels is to invest up to £70m in extensions and refurbishments for its chain of 110 hotels over the next three years. [04-Dec-2002]
Chester City Council is in talks with West Cheshire College about plans to transform the Northgate Arena into a new campus, and proceeds from the deal would be used to develop new leisure facilities elsewhere in the city. [03-Dec-2002]
Crown Sports has received a £42m offer for its Dragon and Axis fitness clubs business from a consortium backed by Rutland Fund Management. [03-Dec-2002]
Doncaster Council is discussing plans for the development of a £10m sports stadium for Doncaster Rovers and the Dragons Rugby League Club, and designs are expected to be drawn up early next year. [02-Dec-2002]
JD Wetherspoon is to reduce the number of new pub openings from 80 to about 55 in the current financial year. [02-Dec-2002]
Enterprise Inns may have to sell off up to 400 pubs to gain regulatory approval to take up its option for the acquisition of the Unique Pub Company in 2004. [02-Dec-2002]
Hilton is to open a 254-bedroom hotel in Gateshead next summer with the creation of 150 jobs, and the site will be leased to Hilton by Morley Fund Management. [29-Nov-2002]
Newark & Sherwood District Council is to consider plans for the development of a £2m arts centre with a 500-capacity performance venue at the Unique Coffee Bar in Riverside Park. [29-Nov-2002]
Tottenham Hotspur is planning to raise £75m in a bond issue, in order to fund the redevelopment of its London-based stadium and the construction of a football academy in Essex. [29-Nov-2002]
Wirral Council is in talks with an unnamed developer about plans for a £20m five-star spa hotel near the Royal Liverpool Golf Course, as part of a strategy to provide long-term benefits from staging the Open championship in 2006. [28-Nov-2002]
Inventive Leisure is preparing to open another five Revolution vodka bars, taking the total to 42. [28-Nov-2002]
Birmingham City Council has appointed Wates Construction to manage the £31m transformation of the historic Town Hall building into a multi-use entertainment venue. [27-Nov-2002]
Brighton & Hove Council is to consider plans from four construction groups for the £70m revamp of the King Alfred sports complex in Hove. [27-Nov-2002]
Pubmaster is to acquire Heritage Pub Company, the operator of 55 pubs in the East Midlands, for £19m, taking its total estate to about 3,200. [26-Nov-2002]
Perth & Kinross Council is to consider plans from the Hall House Hotel near Scone for the £1.5m expansion of its golf and conference facilities. [26-Nov-2002]
Urdd Gobaith Cymru, the Welsh youth movement, is to invest £10m in the expansion of its three residential centres, with the creation of 50 jobs by 2004. [26-Nov-2002]
Braintree District Council has secured a £1.7m lottery grant to go towards a £4.5m project to build an indoor swimming pool, fitness room and games area at Halstead Sports Centre. [26-Nov-2002]
Derby City Council is to consider plans from Mixend for the creation of a £7m leisure and shopping complex at the derelict Duckworth Square precinct. [26-Nov-2002]
Firmdale Hotels is planning to build a new 85-room five-star hotel on a former car park site at Wardour Street in London. [25-Nov-2002]
Liverpool City Council has announced plans for the £10m revamp of the Colomendy adventure centre near Mold, in order to improve the facilities and attract more visitors. [22-Nov-2002]
Carmarthenshire County Council is considering plans from West Midlands Safari Park for the creation of a £80m holiday village and aquarium at Pembrey Country Park, which could create 110 jobs. [22-Nov-2002]
Canvas Holidays, the Dunfermline-based camping and mobile home tour operator, is to undergo a £25m management buy-out backed by 3i. [21-Nov-2002]
Martin Mere, the nature reserve near Ormskirk, is to undergo a £1m expansion over the next three years, following the award of a lottery grant to the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. [21-Nov-2002]
Fitness First, the operator of 311 health clubs, is to reduce the number of new openings to 50 next year, and is considering plans to put the business up for sale. [21-Nov-2002]
Yarmouth Borough Council has approved plans from Felixstowe-based Family Amusements for the £1.7m refurbishment of Wellington Pier. [20-Nov-2002]
Copeland Council is considering proposals for the £25m regeneration of the Pow Beck Valley and coastal fringe area of South Whitehaven, including a cliff top railway and other tourist attractions. [20-Nov-2002]
Lastminute.com has acquired eXhilaration, the provider of adventure experiences to both individual and corporate customers, for an initial £1m. [19-Nov-2002]
World Travel Holdings is to acquire Select Line Holidays and Select Travel International in an all-share deal, in order to expand its LeisureHunt travel promotion business. [19-Nov-2002]
Lancashire County Council has approved plans from South Lakeland Caravans to build a £15m leisure village at a former gravel quarry near Carnforth, with the creation of 50 jobs. [19-Nov-2002]
Coventry Rugby Club has won planning permission to build a 10,000-seater stadium at the Butts cycle and athletics track. [18-Nov-2002]
Cains is looking to expand its chain of 10 Merseyside pubs to 100 over the next five years. [18-Nov-2002]
Shearings Holidays has secured a £65m cash injection to fund the expansion of its hotel and international holidays divisions. [18-Nov-2002]
Park Resorts has announced a £5m refurbishment programme for its nationwide chain of holiday parks, including the expansion of three sites on the Isle of Wight. [18-Nov-2002]
The National Assembly for Wales has arranged £16m of funding for the development of a £45m Bluestone holiday village near Narbeth in Pembrokeshire, which will create up to 600 jobs. [14-Nov-2002]
Aberdeenshire Council is considering multi-million pound plans for the development of new leisure facilities in Inverurie town centre, including cinema, bowling and nightclubs. [14-Nov-2002]
Cliveden, the 35-room country house hotel, and the 42-room Royal Crescent in Bath have been sold to Von Essen Hotels of Austria for about £50m. [14-Nov-2002]
The University of Plymouth is planning to reorganise its campus with the creation of a new cultural quarter and the transfer of students from other sites in Newton Abbot and Exeter. [13-Nov-2002]
Brentford Football Club is considering plans to build a £50m 25,000-seat stadium at Lionel Road in west London, and the project would include hotels, apartments and offices. [13-Nov-2002]
Morrison Construction has won a £8m contract from Forest Holidays to upgrade two holiday parks at Keldy Cropton in North Yorkshire and Strathyre in Scotland. [13-Nov-2002]
Luminar is looking to sell a number of underperforming nightclubs, cut capital expenditure from £90m to £80m and reduce the number of new openings to 30 next year. [13-Nov-2002]
SFI, the chain of 180 pubs, has had its shares suspended following the discovery of accounting irregularities. [13-Nov-2002]
Perth & Kinross Council is expected to receive plans from an unnamed North American hotel group for the transformation of Taymouth Castle into a £80m tourist complex. [12-Nov-2002]
Northern Stage Ensemble is planning to transform the Newcastle Playhouse theatre into a European Centre for Performing Arts at a cost of £6m, and London-based Arts Team has been appointed architect. [12-Nov-2002]
Team Lincoln is creating 140 new jobs at its four holiday call centres in Newcastle, Peterlee, Middlesbrough and Leeds. [12-Nov-2002]
Brighton & Hove Council is to consider plans from Brighton Ice Rink for the development of a £38m ice arena at Black Rock. [11-Nov-2002]
Queens Moat Houses is considering plans for a franchise deal with Hilton Group, which would involve converting most of its 42 UK hotels to the Hilton and Scandic brands. [11-Nov-2002]
Chester City Council is to consider plans for the multi-million pound excavation of the city's Roman Amphitheatre, including the construction of a visitor centre. [08-Nov-2002]
Le Meridien Waldorf hotel in London is to undergo a £20m refurbishment over the next 12 months, including new bedrooms and a fitness club. [08-Nov-2002]
East Herts Council is to invest £2m in the creation of a modern arts and cultural venue at the Rhodes Centre in Bishop's Stortford. [07-Nov-2002]
Travelcare has acquired 13 Holiday City outlets, taking its total number of branches to 370. [07-Nov-2002]
Center Parcs, the chain of four holiday villages, is being acquired by Sun Capital Partners in a £465m sale and leaseback deal. [06-Nov-2002]
The Welsh Development Agency is supporting plans for the development of a £10m space academy next to the Technium Centre in Swansea, including a research centre and cinema. [06-Nov-2002]
Restormel Borough Council is to consider plans from Ampersand Group for the development of a £100m holiday complex at the Cornwall Coliseum site near St Austell, with the creation of up to 600 jobs. [06-Nov-2002]
Absolute Leisure is to set up a £2m floating casino in Middlesbrough next year, with the creation of 150 jobs. [05-Nov-2002]
Jarvis Hotels has raised £150m from the sale and leaseback of nine properties, as part of a strategy to focus on hotel management. [05-Nov-2002]
PizzaExpress, the chain of 300 restaurants, has received a £250m takeover approach from Sun Capital Partners and Nando's. [05-Nov-2002]
Dumfries Theatre Royal is seeking lottery funding for a £6m refurbishment project. [04-Nov-2002]
The National Gallery has announced plans for a £21m revamp at its London-based art gallery in order to cope with an expected increase in visitors, and work will start in March. [04-Nov-2002]
World Travel Holdings has agreed to acquire the whole of the share capital of LeisureHunt.com, the online hotel booking agency. [01-Nov-2002]
North East Lincolnshire Council is to consider plans from Taylor Made Fun for the development of a £3m casino in Cleethorpes. [01-Nov-2002]
The English Tourism Council is to be merged with the British Tourist Authority as part of a government plan to encourage more people to take their holidays in Britain. [01-Nov-2002]
Scottish & Newcastle has made its first move into North West Wales with the £2.2m acquisition of five pubs from Caernarfon-based Newborough Pub Company. [31-Oct-2002]
Fife Council is considering plans from St Andrews International Golf Club for the development of a £15m golf and leisure complex at Feddinch, which would create 80 jobs. [31-Oct-2002]
Glasgow City Council has warned that Glasgow Zoo could be shut down unless a viable action plan is devised to justify its continued existence. [31-Oct-2002]
Regent Inns has sold 17 unbranded pubs to Porter Black Holdings for £4.3m. [31-Oct-2002]
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport and the Wolfson Foundation have awarded £2m to ten museums across the country, to help improve the way their collections are displayed. [30-Oct-2002]
Field & Lawn Marquees has acquired Black & Edgington, the supplier of marquees and temporary structures, from the Arena events organising group for £0.5m. [30-Oct-2002]
Whitbread is considering plans to overhaul its chain of Beefeater restaurants, which could lead to the closure or sale of some outlets. [30-Oct-2002]
Norwich City Football Club has announced plans to build a new £6.5m South Stand at the Carrow Road stadium. [29-Oct-2002]
Aberdeen City Council is to consider plans from Kenmore Investments for the development of a £9m hotel and leisure complex at Virginia Street. [29-Oct-2002]
Topnotch is considering plans to put its fitness clubs business up for sale, having breached its banking covenants. [25-Oct-2002]
Oldfields is to invest £1.5m over the next four years opening upmarket restaurants in the Newcastle area and in Yorkshire, with the creation of more than 200 jobs. [24-Oct-2002]
Stafford Borough Council is considering plans from Allied Investment Partners of Leicester for the development of a multi-million pound leisure complex in Newport Road, including casino, pub and restaurant. [24-Oct-2002]
Aberdeen City Council is to consider plans from Gibmac World Holdings for the construction of an 18-storey futuristic hotel in North Anderson Drive. [24-Oct-2002]
RAL Holdings, the operator of 135 amusement arcades, is said to be looking to sell the business for about £40m, in order to raise new capital to fund an expansion programme. [24-Oct-2002]
EC Harris is seeking a project manager for a £10m contract to build an arts complex at Hull College. [24-Oct-2002]
Derby County Football Club has announced a financial rescue plan to ease a £20m debt, including voluntary redundancies among administrative staff. [23-Oct-2002]
Nottingham Forest Football Club has unveiled proposals for a new main stand at the City Ground, in order to increase capacity from 30,600 to 40,000. [23-Oct-2002]
South Ribble Council is conducting a review of its four sports centres, three community centres and two heritage sites, which could lead to the facilities being privatised. [23-Oct-2002]
Colchester Council is to consider revised plans for the redevelopment of Colchester Garrison, which will provide public access to new sporting facilities and create up to 1,000 jobs. [22-Oct-2002]
Bannatyne Fitness is planning to expand its chain of 23 health clubs with ten new sites by the end of 2003. [22-Oct-2002]
Stourbridge College is seeking a suitable site to build a multi-million pound art and design centre called The College of Art. [21-Oct-2002]
Fife Council has awarded outline planning permission to Scot Sheridan Estates for the development of a hotel, drive-through restaurant and car showroom in Glenrothes. [21-Oct-2002]
Kilconquhar Castle Estate is planning a £14m expansion programme, including the development of new timeshare units and a 40-bedroom hotel. [21-Oct-2002]
Darlington Borough Council and Lingfield Estates are discussing the possibility of setting up a music and dance academy at the former Beehive ballroom at Lingfield Point. [21-Oct-2002]
Whitbread is planning to employ up to 1,500 personal trainers in its David Lloyd Leisure fitness centres over the next three years. [21-Oct-2002]
TopGolf Game Centres has secured £15m to fund the expansion of its golfing centres in the UK and Ireland. [21-Oct-2002]
Scottish & Newcastle is looking to sell 10 of its 41 Old Orleans restaurants. [18-Oct-2002]
Chichester District Council is to receive plans for the development of a £3m nightclub next to the Chichester Gate leisure complex. [18-Oct-2002]
Crown Sports, the golf and health club operator, has received a £15m takeover offer from a newly-formed company called Bennelong. [17-Oct-2002]
Crawley Borough Council is seeking contractors for the development of a £22m sports complex at Tilgate, including swimming pool and athletics arena. [16-Oct-2002]
Wookey Hole Caves, the Somerset-based tourist attraction, has been put up for sale, and could fetch more than £6m. [16-Oct-2002]
Clubhaus has raised £0.4m from the sale of five golf clubs in Germany, in order to focus on the Country Club format in the UK. [15-Oct-2002]
West Devon Borough Council has approved plans to develop a £1m sporting facility in Tavistock's Crowndale Valley, including athletics, football and cricket. [14-Oct-2002]
The Netherbow Centre in Edinburgh is to undergo a £3.2m transformation into a storytelling complex, complete with retractable theatre. [14-Oct-2002]
Walsall Football Club has announced plans to build a 100-bedroom hotel complex at the Bescot Stadium. [14-Oct-2002]
Merlin Entertainments is planning to spend £16m building three Sea Life aquariums in Germany. [14-Oct-2002]
RCI Europe is to shed up to 20 jobs at its holiday exchange business in Kettering. [11-Oct-2002]
The Cotswold Water Park is planning to build a new £1m visitor centre, including a tourist information centre, cafe and exhibitions. [11-Oct-2002]
The Royal Festival Hall in London is to receive £15m of lottery funding for a refurbishment project, and the venue will be closed for more than a year. [10-Oct-2002]
Skanska has won a £13m contract from Chelsfield Properties for the redevelopment of the Plaza Cinema in London's Regent Street. [10-Oct-2002]
Clubhaus has sold the Three Rivers golf club in Essex to the Peachey Retirement & Trust Scheme for £2.3m, and its Montpensier club in France has been sold for £1m. [09-Oct-2002]
Shrewsbury Town Football Club has won council approval to build a new stadium on Oteley Road. [08-Oct-2002]
Camelot, the lottery operator, is to shed 80 of its 980 jobs, and regional centres in Leeds, Sunderland, Birmingham, Exeter, Reigate and London are expected to close. [08-Oct-2002]
Cusworth Hall in Doncaster has been awarded more than £4m of lottery funding to restore the site to its former glory and improve its potential as a tourist attraction. [08-Oct-2002]
Coventry University has announced plans to build a £4m sports centre in the city centre, and is also looking to spend more than £2m upgrading the 35-acre sports ground at Westwood Heath. [07-Oct-2002]
Mean Fiddler is looking to sell its chain of 14 pubs and restaurants, in order to focus on its Jazz Cafe brand and live music operations. [04-Oct-2002]
Drayton Manor Park has announced plans to build a new version of the London Eye tourist attraction in the Eastside district of Birmingham. [04-Oct-2002]
Sportech has sold its Pull Tab lottery business to Gamingking for £0.6m. [03-Oct-2002]
The Eden Project visitor attraction in Cornwall has announced plans to build a third biome by 2005, as part of a £75m expansion project. [02-Oct-2002]
The Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland has announced that Laganside has agreed a deal with commercial partners for a £30m riverfront development at Donegall Quay in Belfast, including a hotel, apartments and offices. [02-Oct-2002]
South Hams District Council has won preliminary approval for a £1m lottery grant to fund the development of a £2m sports and leisure centre in Dartmouth. [02-Oct-2002]
Six Continents has announced plans to demerge its hotels business from its pubs and restaurants, as they are expected to operate more effectively as separate companies. [02-Oct-2002]
MyTravel has sold its Eurosites camping and mobile home business to Holidaybreak for £30m. [01-Oct-2002]
The National Sports Centre at Bisham Abbey is to undergo a £11m redevelopment by early 2004, including two judo halls, sports science and medicine building and a public gym. [01-Oct-2002]
Swindon Borough Council and the Science Museum are to discuss the possibility of transforming Wroughton airfield into a Creative Planet visitor centre, with a focus on science and innovation. [01-Oct-2002]
Weymouth & Portland Borough Council is considering plans for the development of a £6m sailing academy at Osprey Quay, with the creation of up to 150 jobs. [01-Oct-2002]
East Northamptonshire Council is to consider plans for the development of a 170-bedroom hotel and conference centre at the Lakeside Country Club in Rushden. [30-Sep-2002]
Inventive Leisure is considering plans to sell off its estate of 11 unbranded bars, in order to focus on the expansion of its Revolution brand. [27-Sep-2002]
Pizza Hut is planning to open a further 250 restaurants over the next five years, and is seeking suitable locations at cinemas, shopping centres and railway stations. [27-Sep-2002]
English Heritage is to create about 50 jobs in Swindon in November by relocating some departments from London. [27-Sep-2002]
Everton Football Club is to submit plans for the development of a new £9m football academy in Halewood by July 2004. [27-Sep-2002]
KooGa, the sports goods company, has been bought out of administration by the Kettner Group for £0.6m. [27-Sep-2002]
Belfast City Council is conducting a review of its 14 leisure centres, which are operating at an annual loss of £8m, and some of the sites could be closed to make way for "super centres". [27-Sep-2002]
Online Travel Corporation has acquired All-Hotels, the Edinburgh-based online hotel booking company with 25 staff, for £1.4m. [26-Sep-2002]
Camelot is considering plans to launch a pan-European lottery by 2004, and talks are taking place with a number of its international counterparts. [26-Sep-2002]
English Heritage has announced plans for the £7m transformation of Hadrian's Wall into a major tourist attraction, including two new visitor centres. [26-Sep-2002]
Sefton Council is to consider plans for the development of a £12m indoor ski dome at the Ocean Plaza seafront development in Southport. [25-Sep-2002]
Wentworth Brewery is looking to open a chain of traditional pubs in South Yorkshire, through a new subsidiary called Heart of the Village. [25-Sep-2002]
Old Monk has sold nine London-based pubs to Puzzle Pub Company for £3.5m, in order to reduce debt. [25-Sep-2002]
Greene King is to sell 37 pubs to Punch Taverns for £6.8m, enabling Punch to strengthen its business in the south-east. [25-Sep-2002]
Peterborough City Council is considering plans from JD Wetherspoon for the development of a £1.2m Lloyds No 1 bar and disco at the Hereward Cross Centre. [23-Sep-2002]
Warwick District Council is to consider plans for the £2.5m expansion of The Quality Hotel, including additional rooms, an indoor leisure area and the creation of 30 jobs. [23-Sep-2002]
Parkdean is looking to double the size of its holiday parks business over the next two years, and is seeking acquisitions in Yorkshire and East Anglia. [23-Sep-2002]
Six Continents has allocated £400m of capital expenditure for its chain of 3,200 hotels this year and £250m for its pubs and restaurants, and is also considering plans to demerge the two divisions. [23-Sep-2002]
Falkirk Council has received plans from Falkirk Football Club for the development of a 7,000-seater stadium at Westfield. [20-Sep-2002]
Suffolk County Football Association is to relocate from Ipswich to a new £0.4m office in Stowmarket in March 2003. [20-Sep-2002]
Elgin Museum has secured lottery funding for a £0.5m refurbishment programme, and the site will be closed in November for about a year while the work is carried out. [20-Sep-2002]
Brunel University is planning to invest £100m at its Uxbridge campus, in order to centralise students from the Twickenham and Osterly campuses and develop new library, arts and sports facilities. [19-Sep-2002]
Highland Council is to put forward five potential sites for the relocation of the Edinburgh-based Scottish Natural Heritage headquarters in 2005, which could bring 270 extra jobs to Inverness. [18-Sep-2002]
La Tasca is to open about ten new restaurants over the next 12 months, with new sites currently being opened in Reading and Bath. [13-Sep-2002]
Middlesbrough Borough Council is considering plans for the £1.5m extension of the Highfield Hotel in Marton Road, which would involve 35 new rooms, a health club and 20 new jobs. [13-Sep-2002]
TUI UK, the Thomson Holidays travel group, is planning to relocate 800 staff from offices in London, Coventry and Leamington to a new site at the Westwood Heath Business Park in Coventry by the end of next year. [12-Sep-2002]
West Wiltshire Council is to consider plans from Tom's Companies for the redevelopment of South Wraxall Manor near Bradford on Avon, in order to create a luxury hotel. [12-Sep-2002]
West Norfolk Council has approved plans from CHS Amusements to build a £2m entertainment centre on the site of Hunstanton's former pier. [11-Sep-2002]
Marylebone Warwick Balfour has acquired the remaining 50% stake in the brand of its mid-market lifestyle hotel group Malmaison from Rezidor SAS Hospitality for £6m. [11-Sep-2002]
The Rugby Football Union is seeking permission to build a new £70m stand, hotel and fitness club at the Twickenham stadium in London. [11-Sep-2002]
PizzaExpress is to expand its chain of 300 restaurants with about 30 new outlets this financial year, and capital expenditure will double to £13m. [11-Sep-2002]
The University of Teesside has awarded a £5m contract to Allenbuild Turner to build a new Centre for Sport. [11-Sep-2002]
Proactive Sports Group has acquired Fox Sports, the Durham-based sports management company, for up to £1.2m. [10-Sep-2002]
North East Lincolnshire Council is in talks with a local businessman about the possibility of transforming Grimsby's derelict Ice Factory building into a £5m cultural centre, including museum, gallery and conference centre. [10-Sep-2002]
William Hill is looking to expand its chain of betting shops from 1,577 to almost 2,000, and could spend up to £100m on acquisitions. [10-Sep-2002]
Stratford District Council will soon receive plans from the US-based Will Power consortium for the development of a £100m Shakespearian theme park on a 200-acre site two miles from the town centre. [09-Sep-2002]
Regent Inns has announced plans to spend £120m expanding its chain of pubs and clubs over the next three years. [06-Sep-2002]
LA Fitness has announced plans to open about 20 health clubs a year, having agreed a new £90m debt facility. [06-Sep-2002]
Ask Central is planning to open 30 pizza restaurants next year, to add to the existing 140. [06-Sep-2002]
Gleneagles is planning a £300m investment in the expansion of its golf resort, including a new five-star hotel, luxury homes and two additional golf courses, and the project is being backed by Dubai-based Ochil Developments. [06-Sep-2002]
Ultimate Leisure has announced plans to expand its chain of bars and night clubs across the north of England from Tyneside to Yorkshire, and is preparing to open new premises in Newcastle, South Shields and Durham. [05-Sep-2002]
Holmes Place has received a £202m merger proposal from Cannons, which would create the UK's largest chain of premium health clubs. [05-Sep-2002]
Invicta Leisure is to be acquired by Duke Street Capital for £140m, and the business will be combined with Esporta to create a combined group of 18 racquet clubs and 42 fitness clubs. [05-Sep-2002]
Haymills is set to win a £5m contract to refurbish and extend the Palace Theatre in Watford. [05-Sep-2002]
New Century Inns of Billingham is planning to spend £15m doubling its 38-strong chain of pubs by 2004, with the creation of 300 jobs. [04-Sep-2002]
Bourne Leisure is to relocate up to 100 of the 375 jobs at its call centre in Bognor Regis to Hemel Hempstead, in order to have two sites of similar size. [04-Sep-2002]
University of Southampton has awarded a £6m contract to Dean & Dyball Construction to build a new sports and swimming complex. [04-Sep-2002]
HE Services is planning to relocate its Diggerland theme park in Kent to a former landfill site in Strood by summer 2003. [04-Sep-2002]
Golden Tulip UK has raised £33m from Graphite Capital and a consortium of investors to fund the development of 17 budget hotels in the UK and Ireland over the next three years. [03-Sep-2002]
Hide is planning to open a further three cafe bars in the north-east over the next six months with the creation of up to 100 jobs, and hopes to have up to a dozen sites in two years time. [02-Sep-2002]
Swansea Council has approved plans for the development a £5.5m sports village in Mumbles Road, including an athletics and spectator stand. [02-Sep-2002]
Hilton has completed the £336m sale and leaseback of 10 UK hotels in order to reduce debt, and has also announced plans to spend £35m expanding its LivingWell fitness club chain in Australia. [02-Sep-2002]
St Albans District Council has approved plans from Sainsbury to build a hotel, garden centre and restaurant on a former Savacentre site in London Colney. [30-Aug-2002]
Invicta Leisure is planning to expand its chain of 15 fitness clubs to 18 by the end of the year. [29-Aug-2002]
Brent Borough Council is seeking expressions of interest in a £16m project to build an athletics and leisure centre in north London. [29-Aug-2002]
Chorley Borough Council is considering plans from Surrey-based Community Leisure Centre Services for the development of a £1.5m bowling centre at the former Bentwood Brothers clothing factory in Water Street. [28-Aug-2002]
North Ayrshire Council has revealed plans from Hong Kong-based Club La Costa to set up a £10m holiday call centre at the Riverside Business Park in Irvine, with the creation of 60 jobs. [28-Aug-2002]
Wychavon District Council is considering plans for the £1m transformation of Evesham's Regal Cinema into an upmarket entertainment venue, including cinema, bowling and restaurants. [28-Aug-2002]
Stanley Leisure is planning to set up a large casino and live entertainment complex in Liverpool, and two suitable sites have been identified. [28-Aug-2002]
MyTravel is to create 100 new sales jobs at its Airtours call centre in North Shields over the next three months. [28-Aug-2002]
Stanwix Park is planning a £2m expansion of its holiday centre in Silloth, in order to provide 108 new caravan pitches. [28-Aug-2002]
Radisson SAS is to create 170 jobs with the opening of a new £45m hotel at Argyle Street in Glasgow in November. [28-Aug-2002]
The National Assembly for Wales is to provide £3m of funding to put an unnamed medieval ship on permanent display, once it has been lifted from its resting place on the river front in Newport. [27-Aug-2002]
Leicestershire County Council is planning a £1.2m programme of improvements at the Bosworth Battlefield visitor centre near Sutton Cheney. [27-Aug-2002]
Hunters Leisure has been temporarily placed in administration in order to restructure its finances, and talks are taking place to sell its four fitness sites in Tonbridge, Dunstable, Folkestone and Kettering. [27-Aug-2002]
Avebury Taverns is looking to raise up to £30m from the sale of an equity stake, in order to expand its chain of 800 pubs to 2,000. [26-Aug-2002]
Six Continents is planning a £60m refurbishment of the May Fair Inter-Continental hotel in London, and work will start in December. [23-Aug-2002]
Cambridgeshire County Council has announced plans to set up a £10m resource centre to house art and archaeological treasure at the Gallagher site in Arbury Camp. [23-Aug-2002]
The Association of British Travel Agents has announced that Swifta Travel, the Gloucestershire-based chain of travel agent shops, has closed with the loss of 40 jobs. [22-Aug-2002]
Derby City Council has approved plans from the Atkins Family Trust to build a 200-room hotel at Findern in Derby. [22-Aug-2002]
Whitbread has acquired the Chris Lane Leisure Club in Woking for about £8m, and will convert it to the David Lloyd Leisure format. [22-Aug-2002]
Kirklees Council is considering plans for the development of a £2m community and sports centre on the site of the Moldgreen Amateur Rugby League Club in Dalton. [21-Aug-2002]
JJB Sports is seeking permission to set up a £20m Soccerdome sports academy in Darlington, including football pitches, health centre, swimming pool and retail units. [21-Aug-2002]
Online Travel Corporation has acquired Sydney Travel Centre, the Australian travel agency, for £0.3m. [20-Aug-2002]
Rugby Borough Council has approved plans for the extension of Brandon Hall Hotel, in order to provide 80 additional bedrooms, new conference facilities and a swimming pool. [20-Aug-2002]
Caradon Council is to consider plans from Surrey-based Concise Construction for the development of a leisure and retail centre in Liskeard, including a Focus DIY store, garden centre, cinema and bowling alley. [19-Aug-2002]
The British Museum has sold a former Post Office sorting centre in London's New Oxford Street to Morley Fund Management, having dropped plans to create a textile museum, and the site is now expected to be developed into a hotel. [19-Aug-2002]
Regent Inns has acquired two night clubs in London's West End - the Limelight club in Shaftesbury Avenue and Shoeless Joe's at Temple - and both sites will be converted to the Walkabouts format. [16-Aug-2002]
Cardiff County Council is looking into the possibility of building a new £8m athletics stadium in the grounds of the University of Wales Institute Cardiff's Cyncoed campus. [16-Aug-2002]
North Wiltshire District Council has secured £1.2m of lottery funding to build a new £2.4m swimming pool in Malmesbury. [16-Aug-2002]
Harrow Council is planning to restore the historic Canons Park at a cost of £1.3m. [15-Aug-2002]
Zetters has sold its football pools business to Sportech for £1.4m, in order to focus on spread-betting and financial market-making. [15-Aug-2002]
Springwood has acquired eight clubs in northern England from First Leisure for up to £4.1m, and will convert them to its Zanzibar and Cobarnas formats. [15-Aug-2002]
Liverpool City Council is investing £0.7m in new leisure facilities across the city, including the extension of three gyms and the construction of a new site over the next 12 months. [13-Aug-2002]
Georgica is raising up to £17m in a share placing to fund the refurbishment and expansion of its cue sports business. [13-Aug-2002]
Kennet District Council is to consider plans for the development of a £50m hotel and golfing centre at the historic Tottenham House near Marlborough. [09-Aug-2002]
Wembley has sold its London-based property business to Quintain Estates for £48m, and the proceeds will be invested in its gambling operations. [08-Aug-2002]
Fish has sold seven of its restaurants out of administration to a new company called Loco Restaurants. [07-Aug-2002]
Hartford is to acquire Jamies Bars for £4.8m, creating a combined group with 26 restaurants and bars. [07-Aug-2002]
Charterhouse Development Capital is to acquire Coral Eurobet, which includes 870 betting shops, for £860m. [05-Aug-2002]
Nomura is planning to liquidate its Grey Archer online ordering service for the pubs industry, having previously sold off three separate pub chains. [05-Aug-2002]
First Choice Holidays is to acquire Porter & Haylett, the owner of the Connoisseur holiday boating business, for £24m. [02-Aug-2002]
English Heritage has announced plans for the £57m redevelopment of the National Trust site at Stonehenge, including a new visitors centre. [01-Aug-2002]
Honeycombe Leisure is to expand its pub estate by managing properties owned by Nectar Taverns, a privately-funded group that is looking to spend up to £11m on the acquisition of about 15 pubs. [29-Jul-2002]
Worcester City Council is seeking lottery funding for the £1m revamp of the historic Commandery and Fort Royal Park. [26-Jul-2002]
Pubmaster is acquiring 22 Scottish pubs for £7m, including 18 from Law Property Leisure. [26-Jul-2002]
Cambridge City Council is supporting plans for the £7m refurbishment of The Junction arts centre, including a new 250-seat theatre, rehearsal rooms and concert hall. [26-Jul-2002]
The Beamish Museum in County Durham is to get a £0.5m grant towards the cost of an extension, as part of a £5.2m package of government grants to museums across the country. [25-Jul-2002]
Bradford Council is to consider plans from the Kala Sangam dance group for the development of a £3m 400-seat centre of excellence for South Asian arts at Exchange Court. [25-Jul-2002]
Balaclava Pub Company has acquired the Hobgoblin group of pubs, taking its chain to 54. [24-Jul-2002]
South Oxfordshire District Council is to consider plans for the development of a £6.3m arts, culture and entertainment centre in Didcot. [23-Jul-2002]
Lastminute.com is to acquire Travelprice, the provider of online travel services in France, Italy, Belgium and Spain, for £32m. [23-Jul-2002]
Tesco is to include an Olympic-sized ice rink in its plans for the development of a store at the Streatham Hub site in south London. [22-Jul-2002]
Grand Vacation Club has acquired CBM Group, the Spanish holiday firm with resorts in Majorca and Gran Canaria, for £7.5m. [22-Jul-2002]
Penwith District Council has commissioned consultants to look at the possibility of creating a £8.2m centre of excellence in photography at Hayle near St Ives, which could attract 100,000 visitors a year. [22-Jul-2002]
Wiltshire County Council has approved plans from Messenger Leisure to build a £3.5m hotel and leisure complex at the Wiltshire Golf & Country Club in Wootton Bassett. [22-Jul-2002]
Cyberes is raising £1.3m in a share placing to fund the development of its electronic ticketing system for independent travel agents. [22-Jul-2002]
Next Generation is looking to raise up to £40m to fund the opening of more fitness clubs. [22-Jul-2002]
British Land and Rank have sold their joint venture leisure company, which includes leisure parks in Glasgow, Leicester and Southampton, to Heron International for £107m. [22-Jul-2002]
Clubhaus has raised £6m from the sale of the El Bosque golf club to a Spanish consortium. [22-Jul-2002]
Ann Street Group has sold 16 managed pubs to Porter Black for £7.4m, in order to focus on Bluebeckers restaurants and Conquest Inns. [22-Jul-2002]
DC Leisure has sold its Sam Jones fitness club in Peterborough to Sportz Academy for undisclosed terms, in order to focus on local authority contract management. [19-Jul-2002]
Test Valley Borough Council is considering plans for the £1.5m refurbishment of Andover Leisure Centre. [19-Jul-2002]
Mersey Docks & Harbour has upgraded the development plans for Princes Dock in Liverpool, including a major expansion of office, leisure, hotel and residential space. [18-Jul-2002]
The Oxfordshire Golf Club has been bought out of administration by Leaderboard Golf for about £6m. [18-Jul-2002]
Halton Borough Council has awarded a £4m contract to Seddon to build Camden Gardens arts centre in Runcorn. [18-Jul-2002]
Bristol City Council is considering plans to spend £40m transforming the city's swimming facilities over the next 10 years. [17-Jul-2002]
Tendring District Council is to consider plans for the development of a casino, club and hotel at the Criterion Restaurant in Clacton, at a cost of £1m. [17-Jul-2002]
Esporta, the health club operator, is to be acquired by private equity firm Duke Street Capital for £145m. [16-Jul-2002]
Stanley Leisure has announced plans to build the UK's largest casino at Star City in Birmingham at a cost of £5m, with the creation of about 200 jobs. [16-Jul-2002]
The Arts Council of England is to receive an extra £75m of funding following the government's public spending review, with some of the money going to arts companies and some to bring the arts to schools. [16-Jul-2002]
Cardiff County Council has approved outline plans for the development of a £400m sport, retail and tourist complex on Ferry Road, including swimming pool, snow dome, health suite, climbing walls and an indoor arena. [12-Jul-2002]
Perth & Kinross Council has approved plans from Perth & Kinross Leisure for the development of a £17m 1,200-seat concert hall, due for completion in spring 2005. [12-Jul-2002]
The Scottish Historic Buildings Trust is planning to transform the Hippodrome Picture Palace in Bo'ness, West Lothian, into a £1.5m fitness centre, preserving many of the building's original features. [11-Jul-2002]
Leeds City Council and the Henry Moore Foundation have drawn up plans to revamp Leeds City Art Gallery at a cost of £15m, including more gallery space and a new lecture theatre. [11-Jul-2002]
Allerdale Council and Workington Town football club are working on proposals for the development of a new sports stadium, which would host rugby, football and speedway. [11-Jul-2002]
Esporta has announced plans to expand its chain of health clubs by transforming under-used areas of existing sites into gyms and by opening smaller sites in up to 60 towns. [10-Jul-2002]
National Museums & Galleries of Wales is considering plans to set up a new national art gallery for Wales at a cost of about £40m, which could involve extending the current site in Cardiff or finding a new site. [10-Jul-2002]
Southend Council is to consider plans for the development of a £10m David Lloyd health and fitness centre in Eastwood, with the creation of 130 jobs. [09-Jul-2002]
York City has revealed plans for the development of a £17m football stadium, but the exact location has yet to be confirmed. [09-Jul-2002]
UKbetting has acquired SCG Enterprises, the betting division of Sports.com, for £0.7m. [09-Jul-2002]
Greene King is to invest £50m in the refurbishment of its chain of 1,760 pubs, in order to open beer gardens, increase the floor space and improve the kitchens. [08-Jul-2002]
Stanley Leisure is to acquire Tower Casino Group, the operator of five casinos in Reading, Blackpool, Derby and two in Birmingham, from Bell Holdings for £44m, taking its chain to 40. [05-Jul-2002]
The Radisson Roe Park Hotel & Golf Resort in Limavady is to invest £2m doubling its accommodation capacity. [05-Jul-2002]
Southwark Council is seeking lottery funding for a multi-million pound facelift for Dulwich Park. [04-Jul-2002]
Staffordshire County Council is investing £3m in improvements at 19 of the 43 libraries across Stafford, Lichfield and Cannock, including the introduction of an internet cafe environment. [03-Jul-2002]
Kenwick Park is to invest £5m in the expansion of its hotel complex in Lincolnshire, including 50 additional Scandinavian luxury-style lodges. [03-Jul-2002]
Vimac Leisure has acquired the Victorias nightclub and cabaret venue in Glasgow, and is now looking for further acquisitions around the country. [02-Jul-2002]
Holmes Place, the health club operator, is considering plans for a management buy-out. [02-Jul-2002]
Merthyr County Borough Council is to consider plans from Merthyr Village for the a £250m residential, leisure and commercial scheme in Merthyr Tydfil, including country park and 10,000-seater football stadium. [01-Jul-2002]
Gala, the operator of 166 bingo clubs and 28 casinos, is considering plans for a £1bn flotation. [01-Jul-2002]
Scottish & Newcastle is planning to raise up to £1.2bn by selling off more than 1,000 pubs by April 2003. [01-Jul-2002]
Westminster City Council is considering plans for the £60m redevelopment of the Hippodrome nightclub in Leicester Square, including shops, offices and a new nightclub. [01-Jul-2002]
Clubhaus is looking to sell a number of golf courses in the UK and various operations in continental Europe, in order to focus on its UK chain of country clubs. [01-Jul-2002]
Compass has put its Little Chef restaurants and Travelodge budget hotels up for sale, in order to raise up to £700m and to focus on contract catering. [01-Jul-2002]
Ascot Racecourse is considering plans for a £160m redevelopment scheme, including a new grandstand, four-star hotel, bars and restaurants. [28-Jun-2002]
Liverpool City Council is planning to revamp the Colomendy outdoor pursuits centre in Denbighshire, and private sector partners are being sought to help with the £2.5m cost of the project. [28-Jun-2002]
Gloucester City Council has approved plans from Selsdon Group for the development of a £14m four-star hotel in the city centre, with the creation of about 100 jobs, and Marriott is to operate the hotel. [27-Jun-2002]
Sportingbet has acquired the Sporting Odds betting business from Sporting Index for £4.5m, partly funded by a £2m share issue. [27-Jun-2002]
MJ Gleeson has won a £16m contract to restore the Hurlingham sports and leisure club in west London, including a new theatre and ballroom. [27-Jun-2002]
Peel Hotels has bought the Avon Gorge Hotel in Bristol and the George Hotel in Wallingford for £9.4m. [27-Jun-2002]
Deep Sea Leisure, the operator of marine visitor attractions, has received a £7.4m takeover offer from Aspro of Spain. [25-Jun-2002]
Wirral Council is seeking lottery funding for the development of a £1m glass and steel pavilion as part of the £10m restoration of Birkenhead Park. [25-Jun-2002]
Exeter City Council is to receive plans from the Orb Group for the replacement of the 90-room Thistle Hotel in Queen Street with a £70m flats and hotel complex. [25-Jun-2002]
Durham City Council is seeking a leading entertainment operator to take over the running of the Gala Theatre, following the liquidation of the previous operator. [24-Jun-2002]
Absolute Leisure is to invest £6m in the centre of Newcastle-upon-Tyne with the creation of up to 90 jobs, including a £2m club, a £0.5m Quayside restaurant and a £3m development of luxury flats. [24-Jun-2002]
Mansfield Council has given Berry Hill Social Welfare the go-ahead to start work on the transformation of Berry Hill Park into a £4m sports park. [24-Jun-2002]
Gala is considering plans to open casinos at racetracks, and discussions are taking place with the Jockey Club. [24-Jun-2002]
Hilton is looking to transform large hotels in coastal resorts into Las Vegas-style casinos following the relaxation of gambling laws, and sites are being considered in Brighton, Bournemouth and Blackpool. [24-Jun-2002]
Enterprise Inns is looking to sell about 60 pubs in order to gain regulatory approval for its acquisition of the 1,860-strong Laurel Pub chain. [21-Jun-2002]
Hotel Du Vin has acquired the 71-room Spa Hotel in Harrogate from Peel Hotels for £2.4m, and will spend about £2m refurbishing the site. [21-Jun-2002]
Oswestry Borough Council has approved plans from Gores DMC for the development of a new music, arts and theatre venue at the disused ironworks in the town centre. [21-Jun-2002]
Regent Inns is to sell 20 unbranded pubs to Wizard Inns for £28m, and is in negotiations with potential purchasers for the sale of a further 25 pubs in the Discrete Estate. [20-Jun-2002]
Wembley is to sell its ticket retailing business to The Way Ahead Group for up to £0.6m, as part of a strategy to dispose of its non-core Events Services division. [20-Jun-2002]
Ashfield District Council has approved plans from Mansfield Town FC for the development of a £7m football centre of excellence in Skegby. [20-Jun-2002]
Lochaber Enterprise is supporting plans from a new company called Kinlochleven Steam for the development of a £3m mountain railway for tourists, which would create 25 jobs in the regenerated village of Kinlochleven. [20-Jun-2002]
Greene King has acquired the Morrells chain of 107 Oxford-based pubs for £67m. [19-Jun-2002]
Sheffield City Council is to release a site next to Crystal Peaks, on Waterthorpe Greenway, for development into a sports and leisure centre. [19-Jun-2002]
Chesterfield Borough Council is to consider plans from London-based Raven Leisure for the development of a £240m Ecodome complex, including 150-bed hotel, 250 woodland lodges, cinema and amphitheatre. [18-Jun-2002]
Wirral Council and Neptune Developments are to announce plans for a £65m project to revive New Brighton as a tourist resort, including a swimming arena, leisure centre, cinema, casino and hotel. [18-Jun-2002]
Cheltenham Borough Council is to consider plans for the £7.5m refurbishment of Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum. [18-Jun-2002]
Birmingham City Council has approved plans for the development of Europe's largest indoor skateboard park at the former tram shed in Balsall Heath. [17-Jun-2002]
Devon County Council is starting work on the development of a new £2.8m performing arts complex at Teignmouth Community College. [17-Jun-2002]
Caffe Nero is to open a coffee bar at easyInternetCafe's High Street Kensington branch in London, and the deal could be extended to some of easyInternetCafe's other branches. [17-Jun-2002]
Hanson and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds are planning to create a wetland nature reserve at a 700-hectare quarry near Cambridge over the next 30 years. [17-Jun-2002]
Really Useful Theatres has acquired Way Ahead, the Nottingham-based ticketing agency, from Telewest for £13m. [17-Jun-2002]
Myhotels has put its undeveloped Glasgow site up for sale, in order to raise about £5.7m to speed up the development of sites in London, Brighton and elsewhere. [14-Jun-2002]
Lastminute.com is to acquire The Destination Holdings Group, the online travel group offering holidays, flights and car hire, for £12m, partly funded by a £8m share placing. [14-Jun-2002]
Yates Group is looking to expand its Wine Lodge estate from 127 sites to about 200, and expects to open six Yates's bars and a number of HaHa Bars over the next 12 months. [13-Jun-2002]
Hoseasons Holidays is to close its All Canada Travel & Holidays division later this year, following a fall in demand. [13-Jun-2002]
Northern Ballet Theatre has appointed KW Linfoot to build a new £16m dance studio and 147 flats in Leeds. [13-Jun-2002]
Blackpool Zoo is in talks with the international leisure division of Mice Group about plans to transform itself into a major tourist attraction, at a cost of up to £10m. [12-Jun-2002]
Chelmsford Borough Council is to receive plans later this year from Cliffords, the owner of the Mid-Essex Gravel & Channels Golf Club, for the development of a leisure complex on Essex Regiment Way, including ecology centre, hotel and sports complex. [12-Jun-2002]
Pembrokeshire County Council is to consider plans from Bluestone Holdings for the development of a £50m holiday centre on a 500-acre site near Narberth, including sports centre, Celtic village, log cabins and a water attraction. [12-Jun-2002]
Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council is to consider plans from Hinckley United for the development of a £3m 6,000-capacity football stadium on a 221-acre site in Leicester Road. [12-Jun-2002]
Belhaven Brewery is planning to double the size of its 151-strong pub chain over the next three years. [11-Jun-2002]
Lastminute.com is investing £2.4m in a partnership with LCC24, Lufthansa's online travel agency, gaining access to about 4m German customers. [11-Jun-2002]
Marston Hotels has bought the 62-room Aldwark Manor Golf & Country Club near York for about £8m. [11-Jun-2002]
Online Travel Corporation has acquired Travelstore.com, Oxford Technology Solutions, Amersham Travel and Equator-net from the Travelstore.com Group for £2.1m. [11-Jun-2002]
Metnor has won a £12m contract to build a new 3,800-seat stand at the Newcastle Falcons' Kingston Park rugby stadium. [10-Jun-2002]
Newcastle City Council has awarded a contract to the Southern Green Partnership for the £5m restoration of the city's historic Leazes Park, which is due for completion in December 2003. [10-Jun-2002]
Southend Council is considering plans to privatise two of the town's leading entertainment venues - the Cliffs Pavilion and the Palace Theatre - under a single management and development contract. [10-Jun-2002]
Jarvis Hotels is planning to double the size of the 91-bed Ramada Jarvis hotel in Glasgow, at a cost of £7m. [10-Jun-2002]
Birse has won a £2.5m contract from Cine UK to fit out a new cinema in Braintree. [10-Jun-2002]
British Airways and the Tussauds Group are considering plans to expand their Millennium Wheels consortium by setting up visitor attractions similar to the London Eye in places such as Las Vegas and Australia. [10-Jun-2002]
Peel Holdings is planning to develop two budget hotels, a multi-screen cinema and a fitness studio on the 15-acre Bluelands site next to Liverpool Airport, which could lead to the creation of up to 600 jobs. [07-Jun-2002]
North Norfolk District Council is planning to seek European funding for a £4.8m facelift for Cromer seafront, including improvements to the pier and promenade. [07-Jun-2002]
Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council is to sell a site in Eaton Street, Crewe, to Liberty Properties for the development of a multiscreen cinema, bowling alley and bingo club. [06-Jun-2002]
Allerdale Council is to consider plans from Namulas Trustees for the £6m redevelopment of the former Matthew Brown Brewery site in Workington, including retail and storage space, a health and fitness studio and the creation of 100 jobs. [06-Jun-2002]
Snowdonia National Park Authority and London-based consultants Furneaux Stewart have announced plans for the £4.5m refurbishment of the cafe at the summit of Snowdon. [06-Jun-2002]
Field & Lawn Marquees has acquired CBC Marquees of Bristol for about £1.8m. [06-Jun-2002]
Trafford Council is to consider plans for the development of a new ice rink next to the Altrincham Leisure Centre, with capacity for 1,000 spectators. [05-Jun-2002]
Holiday Autos is to diversify its holiday car rental business into the market for hotel accommodation, and has already signed up 1,200 hotels in 40 locations. [04-Jun-2002]
Esporta, the health club operator, has received a £133m hostile takeover offer from private equity group Duke Street Capital. [03-Jun-2002]
London Zoo is planning to operate a £60m aquarium at the Silvertown scheme in London's Docklands by 2006, and the developer will be KUD. [03-Jun-2002]
Ballymore Leisure is closing four its Shoeless Joe's bars in central London, but will retain the other four sites in London, Brighton, Manchester and Cambridge. [03-Jun-2002]
Highland Council has approved plans from a Tulloch Construction-led consortium for the £30m redevelopment of the Aviemore Centre, including a new supermarket and 140 houses. [03-Jun-2002]
Whitbread has sold Pelican and BrightReasons, which together comprise 153 restaurants, to a management buy-in backed by private equity firm ECI for £25m. [03-Jun-2002]
Burtonwood Brewery is to acquire JER, the owner of 94 pubs currently leased by Burtonwood, for £17m, in order to increase its control over the refurbishment of the estate. [03-Jun-2002]
Oxfordshire County Council is considering plans from the Osborne Group for the £3.5m transformation of the historic Oxford Castle into a major visitor attraction. [03-Jun-2002]
English Partnerships and the government have agreed a deal with AEG of the US and the Meridian Delta consortium for the transformation of London's Millennium Dome into a 20,000-seat stadium for sports and concerts. [30-May-2002]
Coventry City Council and the Touchstone Housing Association have announced plans to create a £4m business training complex for young entrepreneurs at the former Broad Heath School in Foleshill. [30-May-2002]
Leicester Tigers is planning to expand its rugby stadium with a new £7m 6,000-seater stand. [30-May-2002]
Wimbledon Football Club has won approval from the Football Association to relocate to Milton Keynes, and may set up a temporary home at the town's national hockey stadium. [30-May-2002]
Springwood has acquired Victorian Leisure, the Barnsley-based nightclub operator, for £3.2m. [29-May-2002]
The Wales Tourist Board is to help fund a new £6m arts and media centre at Victoria Dock in Caernarfon, including theatre, cinema and cafes. [29-May-2002]
Allerdale Council is planning a £1.7m upgrade for the Workington Carnegie Theatre & Arts Centre. [29-May-2002]
Worcester City Council is in negotiations with Leisure Connection over a £3m deal to improve sporting facilities across the city, including a major revamp of the Sansome Walk swimming pool. [28-May-2002]
Sheffield United is planning to raise £4m in a share offer to fund the development of a football academy for young players. [28-May-2002]
Watermark Group is to acquire Globe Audio, the provider of headsets to the airline and leisure industries, for £0.6m. [27-May-2002]
Wyre Forest District Council is considering plans from Kidderminster Harriers for the development of a new £1m stand at its football stadium. [24-May-2002]
Kunick, the operator of leisure centres and amusement machines, is to undergo a £78m management buy-out. [24-May-2002]
Paignton Zoo has awarded a £5.2m contract to Dean & Dyball to set up an aquatic animal visitor centre. [24-May-2002]
Gosport Borough Council has unveiled multi-million pound plans to transform the Alver Valley into a major country park, including golf range, riding school and sports pitches. [23-May-2002]
Elton Games has raised £0.6m in a flotation on Ofex, in order to fund the expansion of its Southport-based amusement machines business. [23-May-2002]
Ayscough Travel, the operator of 10 travel management centres throughout the country, has been acquired by European Travel Holdings for undisclosed terms. [23-May-2002]
City of Edinburgh Council has announced plans for the £9m refurbishment of Usher Hall, including a new glass extension for a box office, administration and hospitality areas. [23-May-2002]
North East Derbyshire District Council is to consider plans for the development of a multi-million pound tourist attraction at Stanedge called the Centre of Great Britain, including exhibition facilities, a 60-bed hotel and spa. [21-May-2002]
Liverpool Football Club has unveiled plans for the development of a £70m 55,000-seater stadium at Stanley Park. [20-May-2002]
Center Parcs is to shed 270 jobs at the Elveden holiday park in Suffolk following a recent fire, but 1,000 staff will be retained over the next year as the Plaza complex is rebuilt. [20-May-2002]
South Norfolk Council and the Norfolk Archaeological Trust have unveiled plans for the £3m transformation of Caistor Roman Town into a major tourist attraction. [20-May-2002]
Sunderland Council is considering plans from Sunderland Ice Hockey Club to set up a £0.2m ice rink at a warehouse in Pallion over the next few months. [20-May-2002]
Aberdeen City Council has approved plans from Aberdeen Curling Club for the development of a £1.5m curling rink on the former playing fields of Summerhill Academy. [20-May-2002]
Cendant is planning to expand its holiday cottage business in the UK and Europe, increasing market share from 5% to 10% over the next few months. [20-May-2002]
First Choice Holidays is to acquire Exodus Travels, the operator of adventure holidays, for up to £10m. [20-May-2002]
Arena Leisure has hired SMC as the architect for the £30m redevelopment of Windsor racecourse, including a new stand and hotel. [20-May-2002]
Tower Hamlets Council is to consider plans from Ballymore Properties for a 2m sq ft redevelopment of the London Arena in Docklands, including hotel, conference centre, shops, apartments and offices. [20-May-2002]
Wyre Forest District Council has unveiled plans for the development of a £2m arts venue in Stourport, including theatre, rehearsal space and gallery. [17-May-2002]
Bradford City Football Club has been placed in administration and a buyer is being sought. [17-May-2002]
Six Continents is seeking suitable sites to expand its chain of 150 Harvester restaurants into the north of England. [16-May-2002]
Luminar, the operator of night clubs and bars, is looking to expand into continental Europe over the next two years. [16-May-2002]
Cannock Chase Council is to consider plans from Matco Leisure for a £2.5m leisure and retail development in Walsall Road, including cinema, bowling and dance club. [15-May-2002]
Old Monk is to change its name to Springbok Bars and convert all its sites to the South African sports bar format. [15-May-2002]
William Hill has confirmed plans to raise £350m in a flotation, in order to reduce borrowings and fund the expansion of its chain of 1,500 betting shops. [14-May-2002]
Gaucho Grill, the restaurant operator, is to be acquired by a new company called Pan European Restaurants for £13m. [14-May-2002]
City of Edinburgh Council is to consider plans from the Southside Capital consortium for the £400m redevelopment of the 19-acre Royal Infirmary site, including offices, shops, homes and a hotel. [14-May-2002]
Croydon Council is seeking proposals for the £500m mixed-use redevelopment of Fairfield Halls. [14-May-2002]
Allerdale Council is to consider plans from M-Sport for a £6.2m hotel, housing and rally development at Dovenby Hall near Cockermouth. [13-May-2002]
Oxford City Council is to invest up to £4m in improvements at its leisure facilities, having dropped plans to transfer the sites to a not-for-profit trust. [13-May-2002]
City of York Council is to consider plans from the NEC Group for the transformation of the Barbican Centre into an international conference and exhibition venue, although a number of other redevelopment proposals have also been submitted for the site. [13-May-2002]
Hilton is to invest £15m introducing new digital broadcasting technology in its 1,900-strong chain of Ladbrokes betting shops. [13-May-2002]
Punch Pub Company has acquired White Rose Taverns, the Yorkshire-based operator of 46 pubs, for £15m. [13-May-2002]
Jumbo International has acquired Supa-Bounce, the Hinckley-based manufacturer of inflatable air structures for the play and leisure sectors, for £0.25m. [10-May-2002]
Breckland Council is to consider plans from a new company called Taurus Sports to set up a £6m hotel, sport and health centre complex at the EcoTech Centre in Swaffham, with the creation of 100 jobs. [10-May-2002]
Chisholm Bookmakers has acquired North East Racing, the chain of 10 betting shops, for undisclosed terms. [09-May-2002]
Groupe Flo has sold its nine remaining Cafe Flo restaurants to Cafe Med. [09-May-2002]
Stanley Leisure has acquired the International Casino Clubs in Brighton and Luton for £8.1m, taking its chain of casinos to 35. [09-May-2002]
Fitness First has bought the Curzons chain of 12 London health clubs from Whitbread for £6m. [08-May-2002]
Manchester United has announced plans to open 90 themed cafes in Asia, and the sites will be operated by its local partner FJ Benjamin. [08-May-2002]
Ann Street Group is to open about two Blubeckers restaurants and five Conquest Inns a year, and expansion will be concentrated in the south east. [08-May-2002]
Thurrock Council has approved plans from Lakeside Development for the construction of a 90-bedroom hotel in West Thurrock. [07-May-2002]
Travel City Direct is to create 125 jobs in Swansea, in order to expand its Spanish tour holidays business. [06-May-2002]
Whitbread has announced plans for a new £8m David Lloyd Leisure tennis and fitness club at the Oxford Business Park in Cowley, with the creation of 130 jobs. [03-May-2002]
Holiday Express is planning to almost double the 40-strong workforce at its call centre in Cwmbran. [03-May-2002]
Groupe Chez Gerard has sold the Scotts seafood restaurant in London's Mayfair to an unnamed buyer for £2.9m. [03-May-2002]
Airdrie Football Club is going into liquidation with debts of almost £3m. [02-May-2002]
Chester City Council is to consider plans from the Chester Archaeological Society for the development of a visitor centre at Chester Racecourse revealing the city's history as a port. [02-May-2002]
Warwickshire County Council is to consider plans for the development of a multi-million pound marina at Camp Hill in Nuneaton, including retail, housing and leisure facilities. [02-May-2002]
Center Parcs is to unveil plans over the next few months to rebuild the Plaza complex at the Elveden Forest holiday park in Suffolk, following a recent fire. [02-May-2002]
North Somerset Council has approved plans from MACE Estates for the £20m redevelopment of the Tropicana leisure centre in Weston-super-Mare by 2004, including indoor swimming pool, fitness centre and cinema. [02-May-2002]
Hull City Council and the University of Hull have announced plans to build a £7.5m local history centre at Mason Street, to provide greater access to public records. [02-May-2002]
Queens Moat Houses is to close the 173-room Grand Hotel in Birmingham with the loss of up to 100 jobs. [02-May-2002]
Wigan Council has commissioned a survey into the feasibility of building a £14m combined football, rugby and athletics stadium in Leigh. [30-Apr-2002]
The British Museum has announced plans to shed 150 of its 1,100 staff due to disappointing visitor numbers. [30-Apr-2002]
International Academy, the football holiday company, is to undergo a £7m reverse takeover by Leisure Ventures. [30-Apr-2002]
Dudley Council is looking into the possibility of building an ice rink and bowling centre in Brierley Hill, and talks are taking place with Chelsfield. [29-Apr-2002]
London Borough of Hillingdon has approved plans from Capstone Group for the development of a 43,000 sq ft hotel at Heathrow. [26-Apr-2002]
Jurys Doyle is planning to build hotels in Glasgow, Leeds and London, in a £55m expansion of its UK hotels chain. [25-Apr-2002]
Six Continents is planning a £14m hotel and pub development near Derriford Roundabout in Plymouth, including a 74-room Express by Holiday Inn hotel and the creation of 40 jobs. [25-Apr-2002]
Zetters is to acquire Financial Spreads, the spread betting company, from Sporting Index for £8.7m, partly funded by a £4.7m share placing. [25-Apr-2002]
PPM Ventures and Royal Bank of Scotland have provided a further £15m of funding to the Barracuda Group for the development of its chain of 130 pubs. [22-Apr-2002]
Greene King has acquired Dalgety Taverns, the Fife-based chain of eight pubs, for undisclosed terms, and will convert the sites into the Hungry Horse format. [19-Apr-2002]
Newark & Sherwood District Council is to consider plans for the creation of a 54-bedroom hotel at the former RHP Precision works on Bowbridge Road. [19-Apr-2002]
The Victoria & Albert Museum in London has announced a £150m 10-year development plan, in order to refurbish and expand its art galleries. [19-Apr-2002]
Chester Racecourse has submitted plans for the first phase of the multi-million pound redevelopment of its racing and leisure facilities, including a 92-bedroom hotel and a new stable block. [18-Apr-2002]
South Cambridgeshire District Council is considering plans from Marston Hotels for the development of a £10m four-star hotel in Cambourne, with the creation of up to 100 jobs. [18-Apr-2002]
The St David's Hotel and Spa in Cardiff Bay is to undergo a £2m refurbishment by September, in order to double its conference capacity to more than 400 delegates. [17-Apr-2002]
Whitbread is seeking permission to build a £10m David Lloyd Leisure club near Lisburn, including tennis centre and swimming pool. [17-Apr-2002]
The De La Warr Pavilion on Bexhill seafront is to undergo a £6m transformation into a contemporary arts centre, starting early next year. [17-Apr-2002]
Arena Leisure is considering plans to open casinos and hotels at its six racecourses, and has selected Windsor and Wolverhampton as the most likely sites for redevelopment. [17-Apr-2002]
Mean Fiddler is to acquire Finlaw 279, the operator of dance clubs in Nottingham, Glasgow and Coatbridge, for £2m. [16-Apr-2002]
Alexandra Palace in Muswell Hill has secured a £2.7m Heritage Lottery grant to restore the historic venue's 196-acre parkland over the next five years. [16-Apr-2002]
Mitchells Practical Campers of Wakefield has been acquired by CCCoutdoors of Sheffield, creating a combined camping business with turnover of £6m and about 50 staff. [16-Apr-2002]
Punch Pub Company is planning to raise about £250m in a flotation over the next few months, in order to fund acquisitions to expand its chain of 4,252 pubs. [16-Apr-2002]
Tote has acquired the Manny Bernstein chain of 30 betting shops in the Midlands and North East, taking its chain to almost 400. [16-Apr-2002]
Enterprise Inns is to acquire 1,860 pubs from Laurel for £875m, in order to expand its estate in the south of England. [15-Apr-2002]
Holmes Place is in negotiations to open health clubs at a number of Sainsbury's sites in London and elsewhere, either in basements or upper floors. [15-Apr-2002]
Newcastle City Council is planning to transform the Ward's building complex in High Bridge into a multi-purpose cultural venue, including art gallery and studios, at a cost of about £3m. [11-Apr-2002]
Newcastle Racecourse is to revive plans for a £6m expansion programme, as owner Northern Racing wants to build an all-weather track and grandstand. [11-Apr-2002]
Sportech has secured an interactive gaming licence from the government of Alderney, and similar licences are also being awarded to the Ritz Club and WagerWorks. [11-Apr-2002]
Bristol City Council is to consider plans for the multi-million pound redevelopment of Colston Hall and Colston House into a world-class centre for music. [10-Apr-2002]
Newmarket Racecourse is to invest £3.5m in improvements to the Millennium Grandstand later this year. [10-Apr-2002]
LA Fitness, the operator of 46 UK health clubs, is on target to expand its chain to 74 clubs by July 2003, including four in Spain. [10-Apr-2002]
Selby District Council is to consider plans from BOCM-Pauls for the development of a 60-bedroom hotel, pub, shops and restaurant on a seven-acre site in Barlby Road, Selby. [09-Apr-2002]
Gaming International has announced plans to build a new greyhound stadium in Milton Keynes, and its existing site nearby will be sold to English Partnerships for the development of 300 homes. [09-Apr-2002]
Lastminute.com has acquired TravelSelect.com, the London-based online travel company, for £12m. [09-Apr-2002]
Goldman Sachs has been appointed adviser for the planned sale of Cine-UK, the operator of 25 multiplex cinemas owned by venture capitalists. [08-Apr-2002]
Loch Fyne Restaurants is planning to raise £3.5m to double the size of its seafood business to 32 outlets by the end of next year. [08-Apr-2002]
EasyGroup is considering plans to open a £5m cinema in London later this year, using the new EasyCinema brand. [08-Apr-2002]
Kirklees Council is drawing up plans to refurbish Huddersfield's public library and art gallery. [04-Apr-2002]
Sportsafe UK of Colchester is creating up to 20 new jobs, having won contracts nationwide to maintain gym equipment in schools. [03-Apr-2002]
Tottenham Hotspur is planning to seek permission from Epping Forest District Council for the development of a multi-million pound football academy at Stapleford Tawney. [03-Apr-2002]
The Midland Hotel in Morecambe has won approval for a £10m restoration project, with developer Kalber Leisure planning to add a leisure centre and conference facilities. [03-Apr-2002]
Chester City Council is to consider plans from British Waterways, CTP and Bellway Homes for a £35m waterside leisure, office and residential complex at Tower Wharf. [03-Apr-2002]
Nuneaton Borough is planning to build a new football stadium at an unnamed location, and an announcement is expected soon. [02-Apr-2002]
Kinlochleven Land Development Trust is in discussions with two local businessmen about plans for the development of a £30m botanical garden tourist attraction at the former Kinlochleven Smelter site. [02-Apr-2002]
Six Continents is planning to open more All Bar One bars in Germany following a successful trial in Cologne. [02-Apr-2002]
Whitbread is to revive plans to invest £60m in the development of new hotels, and £16m be spent on converting London's Swallow International Hotels into a Marriott and a Travel Inn. [02-Apr-2002]
Doncaster Racecourse is looking into the possibility of including a casino in its £40m redevelopment plan. [02-Apr-2002]
Accenture has won a £110m 10-year contract from Thomas Cook to set up an IT and finance service centre, which will involve the transfer of about 400 Thomas Cook staff. [02-Apr-2002]
Inventive Leisure is raising about £6m in a share issue to fund the expansion of its chain of 25 Revolution vodka bars. [29-Mar-2002]
Barnet Football Club has won approval from the Greater London Authority to build a £12m stadium to the south of its existing Underhill site. [28-Mar-2002]
The Scottish Arts Council is to contribute £1m to the £7m project to refurbish Glasgow City Halls, creating a new home for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Scottish Music Information Centre. [27-Mar-2002]
Macdonald Hotels has announced plans to build a £18m four-star hotel in Sheffield, including conference facilities and a leisure centre. [27-Mar-2002]
Groupe Chez Gerard is looking to sell up to eight restaurants in order to reduce debt. [27-Mar-2002]
Leisure Parcs is to go-ahead with plans for the development of the Pharaoh's Palace casino in Blackpool, and most other operators of casinos, betting shops and bingo clubs are also planning to expand following a government decision to ease gambling laws. [27-Mar-2002]
Chorion is to demerge its bar and nightclub division from its intellectual property business in May, creating two new businesses called Urbium and New Chorion. [26-Mar-2002]
Chester City Council is to consider plans from Metier Property and Bellway Homes for the redevelopment of the historic Lead Shot Tower into a leisure, industrial and residential park. [25-Mar-2002]
Holmes Place has acquired the 16-acre Epping Forest Country Club Nightclub in Chigwell, and is planning a £10m flagship club for the site. [25-Mar-2002]
Parkdean is planning to raise up to £28m in a share issue to fund the acquisition of holiday parks. [25-Mar-2002]
University of Hertfordshire has announced plans to build a £15m sports complex in Hatfield by summer 2003. [22-Mar-2002]
Birmingham City Council is to help fund the development of a £12m Elmhurst ballet school on the Calthorpe Estates, including eight dance studios and a 350-seat theatre. [21-Mar-2002]
Parkdean has acquired the Ruda Holiday Park near Ilfracombe in Devon for an undisclosed sum thought to be about £12m, taking its chain of holiday parks to 12. [21-Mar-2002]
Enterprise Inns is acquiring 4,000 Unique and Voyager pubs from Nomura in a £2bn leveraged buy-out, as part of a consortium with Cinven, Legal & General Ventures and Princes Gate Investors. [21-Mar-2002]
La Tasca is to open its first Irish tapas bar at Belfast's riverside Odyssey complex in September with the creation of 60 jobs. [20-Mar-2002]
Oxfords Bar Restaurant of Southampton is looking to open more restaurants in the south, and is seeking suitable sites in Winchester, Guildford, Brighton, Oxford, Bristol and Bath. [20-Mar-2002]
Cheltenham Borough Council is to consider plans from Salmon Harvester for the £50m redevelopment of the Flowers brewery site, including shops, cinema, nightclub and fitness centre. [20-Mar-2002]
City Centre Restaurants has sold most of its Wok Wok chain of restaurants in a number of separate transactions for a total estimated value of £5m. [15-Mar-2002]
The Heritage Lottery Fund is to provide a £4.9m grant for the development of a £7.7m railway museum in Shildon, County Durham, which will be built by the National Museum of Science & Industry and managed by Sedgefield Borough Council. [14-Mar-2002]
London Borough of Hounslow has approved plans for the development of a 400-bedroom hotel in East Bedfont, which will create up to 350 jobs. [14-Mar-2002]
Newport County Borough Council is to restore the historic Belle Vue Park, having secured a £2m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. [14-Mar-2002]
Derbyshire Dales District Council has secured £2.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore tourist facilities at Matlock Bath. [14-Mar-2002]
Birse has won a £10m contract from Woodbridge Edenside Developments to build a leisure complex at Chichester Gate in West Sussex. [14-Mar-2002]
Liberty International is drawing up proposals to transform the empty upper floors of the Lewis's department store in Liverpool into a hotel, penthouse apartments or luxury offices. [13-Mar-2002]
Thistle Hotels has sold 37 of its 52 hotels to Orb Estates of London for £600m, but Thistle will continue to manage the hotels. [13-Mar-2002]
Wembley is to sell its Keith Prowse hospitality business to management for £5.5m, in order to focus on its racetrack and gaming operations. [13-Mar-2002]
North Wiltshire District Council has approved plans for the creation of a new water ski park at Ashton Keynes near Cricklade, which will become part of the Cotswold Water Park. [12-Mar-2002]
Holmes Place is planning to open six new health clubs this year to add to the existing 63. [12-Mar-2002]
Hawtin has acquired Sport Engineering and Lifestyle Engineering for £0.9m, in order to expand its Powersport fitness equipment manufacturing business. [11-Mar-2002]
The Eden Project is creating 200 new jobs at its Cornwall-based tourist attraction, taking the total workforce to 600. [11-Mar-2002]
Fitness First has acquired an 85% stake in the Just for Ladies chain of fitness clubs. [11-Mar-2002]
Breckland Council is to start work on the construction of a new £4m leisure complex in Dereham in March 2003, including swimming pool, bowling centre and fitness suite. [08-Mar-2002]
Swansea Council has approved plans from Ironbridge Estates for the development of a hotel complex at Port Tennant, which will create about 100 jobs. [08-Mar-2002]
Queens Moat Houses is considering plans to rebrand its 24 German hotels, and talks are taking place with Six Continents and a number of other operators. [08-Mar-2002]
London Borough of Barnet is to consider plans from the Kinder London Towers for the development of a £50m basketball arena in Cricklewood. [07-Mar-2002]
The Hooton Park Trust is to resurrect plans for the development of a £10m aviation heritage museum in Ellesmere Port, and is to seek funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. [07-Mar-2002]
Glasgow City Council is supporting the newly-formed Kelvingrove Refurbishment Appeal Trust in its attempt to raise £5m for the £26m development of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. [06-Mar-2002]
The Aston Court Hotel in Derby has announced plans for a £2m refurbishment to expand the conference facilities and increase the number of bedrooms. [06-Mar-2002]
Croydon Council has awarded a £7.6m contract to Wallis to build a swimming pool and sports centre by September 2003. [06-Mar-2002]
Jennings Brothers is selling 15 managed pubs to Mercury Management for £9.3m, while a further three are being sold to Dukedom and Inventive Leisure for £2.2m. [05-Mar-2002]
Thistle Hotels is discussing plans to raise up to £450m from the sale of a portfolio of hotels, and the potential buyer is said to be Orb Estates. [05-Mar-2002]
Thurrock Council has announced plans for the £1.5m modernisation of the Thameside theatre and entertainment complex in Grays. [04-Mar-2002]
Camelot is planning to invest £72m in the relaunch of the national lottery, which will involve a new image and the replacement of all retail terminals. [04-Mar-2002]
Center Parcs, the chain of holiday villages, is planning a flotation later this year with a valuation of about £1bn. [04-Mar-2002]
The Dorchester hotel on London's Park Lane is to undergo a £10m refurbishment this year. [01-Mar-2002]
Bristol City Council is proposing investments of up to £300m in local cultural, leisure and sporting facilities to support its bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2008, including a £50m music centre and a £30m sports stadium. [01-Mar-2002]
Hilton is looking to raise up to £500m from the sale and leaseback of some of its UK hotels, and talks are taking place with five groups. [01-Mar-2002]
Bath & North East Somerset Council has been approached by a number of overseas investors interested in opening a casino in the city, in order to benefit from the additional visitors generated by the £23m spa development. [28-Feb-2002]
St Modwen Properties is to submit plans for the £30m redevelopment of Brighton's West Pier, including shops, restaurants and leisure facilities. [28-Feb-2002]
The Royal Agricultural Society of England is planning to create a National Centre for Rural Enterprise at a cost of between £50m and £100m over the next 10 years, which would involve improvements to Stoneleigh Park near Leamington and a series of year-round visitor attractions. [27-Feb-2002]
Ultimate Leisure is considering a number of potential sites to open its first nightclub in Belfast. [27-Feb-2002]
Portsmouth Football Club is looking into the possibility of building a 50,000-capacity stadium at the 17-acre former Hilsea gasworks site, one of three options being considered by the club. [26-Feb-2002]
South Bucks District Council is to consider plans from Burnham Football Club for the development of a 6,000-capacity sports stadium at Grenville Court, allowing the club to relocate from its existing site at The Gore. [26-Feb-2002]
Knowsley Council is planning to build a new £8.5m sports and swimming centre at Cherryfield Drive in Kirkby, and will seek lottery funding. [26-Feb-2002]
Betdaq of Ireland is planning to launch an online racing exchange in England, based at London's City Airport. [26-Feb-2002]
Sportingbet has acquired the customer database of Michael Sullivan for £1.8m, in order to expand its betting operations in Australia. [26-Feb-2002]
Norwich City Council has approved plans for the development of a 150-bedroom hotel, a new South Stand and a fitness centre at Norwich City's Carrow Road football stadium. [25-Feb-2002]
Strathmore Hotels has undergone a £2.5m management buy-out, and the chain of six hotels is now seeking acquisitions in conference locations such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, York and Chester. [25-Feb-2002]
Wagamama is planning to expand its UK chain of 13 noodle bars across the country, and is also looking to open sites in Australia and Germany. [25-Feb-2002]
Bridgepoint Capital has acquired a 55% stake in Virgin Active in a deal that values the health clubs business at £110m, and will invest a further £43m opening new sites. [25-Feb-2002]
Close Brothers is expected to be appointed as adviser for the sale of the McMullen & Sons chain of 150 pubs, which is expected to raise about £200m. [25-Feb-2002]
Marylebone Warwick Balfour is planning to convert Oxford Prison into a 90-bedroom Malmaison hotel, and is set to announce European expansion plans for the Malmaison chain over the coming weeks. [22-Feb-2002]
Cherwell District Council is considering plans from Stockdale CALA for the £5m expansion of Banbury's Cherwell Centre, to provide a mix of leisure and retail facilities and the creation of 130 jobs. [22-Feb-2002]
South Beds District Council is considering two alternative proposals for the creation of a new multi-million pound arts and entertainments venue to replace Queensway Hall in Dunstable. [22-Feb-2002]
Bristol City Council is planning to invest £9m in three new swimming centres over the next 10 years. [22-Feb-2002]
Gwynedd Council is to consider plans from Ski Trac of Australia for the development of a £150m artificial snow-dome at Llanberis, including a revolving ski slope, bobsled run and 400-bedroom hotel. [22-Feb-2002]
London Irish is to raise £2m in a share placing as part of a strategy to become one of the leading rugby clubs in Europe. [22-Feb-2002]
Monmouthshire County Council is to consider plans from GSH estate Management for the development of a £35m golf and hotel complex at The Rolls of Monmouth estate, with the creation of up to 300 jobs. [21-Feb-2002]
Keiller Estates has announced plans to transform the Gateway building in St Andrews into a conference and call centre for the newly-formed St Andrews Golf consortium, which will create about 50 jobs. [21-Feb-2002]
Macdonald Hotels is planning a £40m expansion of the Inchyra Grange Hotel near Grangemouth, including an office complex, conference centre, leisure club and shops. [20-Feb-2002]
SFI is planning to sell 11 unbranded pubs and five table dancing clubs over the next few weeks, as part of a strategy to focus on bars and restaurants. [20-Feb-2002]
Cambridge City Council has approved plans for the £1.5m redevelopment of the ADC student theatre, and the work will be carried out in 2003. [19-Feb-2002]
Highland Council is to consider proposals for the development of a £30m cultural quarter in Inverness, including arts, entertainment and music venues, to support its bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2008. [18-Feb-2002]
Plymouth City Council is to consider plans from Associated British Ports to build an 80-bed hotel, restaurants, shops and 600 homes at Millbay Dock. [18-Feb-2002]
Chester City Council is to consider plans from London & Amsterdam to build a multi-million pound performing arts centre to replace the Gateway Theatre, as part of the £200m redevelopment of the area around Northgate Street. [18-Feb-2002]
Nomura is looking to sell its Voyager and Unique chains of about 4,000 pubs for about £2bn. [18-Feb-2002]
Morrells, the Oxford-based pubs and brewing company, has been put up for sale and is expected to fetch about £80m. [18-Feb-2002]
East Riding Council has approved plans for the development of a £4m 25-metre swimming pool at the Flemingate leisure centre in Beverley. [15-Feb-2002]
Team Lincoln is creating 20 new jobs to add to the existing 60 at its travel call centre in Middlesbrough. [14-Feb-2002]
Northampton Borough Council is in discussions with Northampton Swimming Club and University College Northampton about plans to build a £8m Olympic-sized swimming pool. [14-Feb-2002]
Tendring Council is considering plans for the transformation of Thorpe's historic maltings into a centre of excellence for business, with the creation of 100 jobs. [13-Feb-2002]
Glasgow City Council is considering two firms to take over the running and improve the profitability of the King's Theatre. [13-Feb-2002]
Welsh National Opera has secured a £4.2m funding package from the National Lottery, in order to double the size of its provincial tours in Wales and restore its presence in England. [13-Feb-2002]
Poole Arts Centre is to close for five months while a £8.5m refurbishment programme takes place, leaving 30 staff without jobs. [13-Feb-2002]
Portsmouth City Council is starting work on a £20m plan to revamp the Mountbatten sports centre, and is advertising for private companies to form a partnership to build an Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis courts and gymnastics centre. [12-Feb-2002]
North Tyneside Council has been approached by more than 30 companies interested in transforming the Spanish City site in Whitley Bay into a leisure complex. [12-Feb-2002]
Enterprise Inns is to open a new £8m headquarters and call centre at the Solihill Business Park in April, with the creation of up to 300 jobs and the relocation of 100 existing staff. [11-Feb-2002]
Jurys Doyle is planning to raise about £16m to expand its chain of hotels, and is looking to open up to 15 new sites in the UK over the next five years. [08-Feb-2002]
The Arts Council of England has awarded a £17m grant for the development of a £38m arts and cultural centre in the New Street area of West Bromwich, which will create 300 jobs. [08-Feb-2002]
Stafford Borough Council is considering plans for the development of a 58-bedroom Whitbread Travel Inn and Brewster's Restaurant at Junction 14 of the M6. [08-Feb-2002]
Punch Retail is to invest up to £45m a year in its chain of 1,046 pubs, and has also announced a change of name to Spirit Group in preparation for an eventual flotation. [08-Feb-2002]
The National Trust has announced a £10m long-term conservation plan to preserve the Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal historic monuments in Yorkshire. [07-Feb-2002]
Clubhaus has sold the Chesfield Downs golf club in Hertfordshire to Leisure Links International for £3.9m, in order to reduce debt. [07-Feb-2002]
Regent Inns has sold 13 unbranded pubs to Broken Foot Inns for an initial £5.6m. [07-Feb-2002]
LA Fitness has raised £8m from the sale and leaseback of properties in Birmingham Northfields, Sutton Coldfield, Sale and Kings Lynn, and the proceeds will be invested in new health and fitness clubs. [06-Feb-2002]
Center Parcs is seeking permission for the £8m expansion of its Elveden Forest holiday park in Suffolk, with the creation of an unspecified number of jobs. [06-Feb-2002]
York Racecourse is to discuss proposals from a local businessman about the possibility of building a £30m all-weather racecourse at Pocklington Airfield. [04-Feb-2002]
BAA Scottish Airports has won permission to build a 250-bedroom four-star hotel at Glasgow International Airport by 2004, operated by Insignia Hotels. [04-Feb-2002]
Paignton Zoo is to set up a 100ft-tall marine aviary at a new £21m attraction being built on a derelict seafront site in Torquay. [01-Feb-2002]
Fitness First has raised £75m in a rights issue to fund the expansion of its health clubs, with 55 new outlets opening this year to take the total to 280. [01-Feb-2002]
Bournemouth Borough Council is planning to privatise Bournemouth Pier, and companies are being invited to come forward with their proposals. [01-Feb-2002]
Glasgow City Council has approved plans for the £8m restoration of Kibble Palace, in order to add an underground lecture theatre and increase visitor numbers by 50% to 600,000 a year. [01-Feb-2002]
Coventry City Council is to consider plans for the development of a £8m sports complex in Binley, which would include Coventry City Football Club's youth academy and create 72 jobs. [31-Jan-2002]
Plymouth City Council, the National Marine Aquarium and the University of Plymouth are discussing plans for the development of a new £30m marine science centre in Sutton, including visitor attraction and science park, with the creation of 200 jobs. [31-Jan-2002]
The Scottish Arts Council has announced a £5.5m increase in its drama budget to improve the infrastructure of Scottish theatre groups, and funding will also be provided for a £9.3m "arts factory" in the Easterhouse area of Glasgow. [31-Jan-2002]
Highland Council is considering proposals for the £10m transformation of Fort Augustus Abbey into timeshare units and a visitor attraction. [31-Jan-2002]
Cheltenham Racecourse has revealed plans for the transformation of Prestbury Park into a major entertainment venue, including a 2,200-seat arena for conferences and exhibitions. [31-Jan-2002]
Sudeley Castle has won approval for a £2m project to create a new visitor centre, restaurant and shops on the edge of the castle grounds. [31-Jan-2002]
Stobo Castle is to invest £5m in the expansion of its health spa near Peebles with the creation of up to 40 jobs. [30-Jan-2002]
Myhotel is to operate a new £10m four-star hotel being built by the Mill Group in the centre of Brighton, and other properties are planned for Chelsea, Paddington and Glasgow to add to its first hotel in Bloomsbury. [30-Jan-2002]
Usit Campus, the student travel company with 500 employees at 46 branches, has ceased trading. [30-Jan-2002]
Guildford Borough Council is considering plans for the development of a £12m casino and entertainment complex at The Drink and Bar Mambo nightclubs. [29-Jan-2002]
Kunick, the operator of leisure centres and amusement machines, is considering plans for a management buy-out. [29-Jan-2002]
Old Monk is selling four unbranded pub-restaurants to a management buy-out for £1.8m. [28-Jan-2002]
Northampton Borough Council is to consider plans for the £40m transformation of the historic Delapre Abbey into an "ecological university" called the Lifespace Centre. [28-Jan-2002]
Southwark Council is considering plans from the Unicorn Children's Centre for the development of a £11m 350-seat children's theatre on Tooley Street. [28-Jan-2002]
Thomas Cook Direct is planning to create up to 300 new jobs at its holiday call centre at Larbert near Falkirk this year. [25-Jan-2002]
Stratford District Council is considering plans for the development of a multi-million-pound concert venue at the Ragley Hall estate near Alcester, which could accommodate 150,000 people and employ 30 full-time staff. [25-Jan-2002]
Stafford Borough Council is considering plans from Stafford Rugby Club to develop a new rugby ground with clubhouse and grandstand on a 17-acre site in Doxey. [25-Jan-2002]
West Lancashire Council is considering plans for the development of a £2m inland marina for 100 boats on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Rufford. [25-Jan-2002]
The National Assembly for Wales is to provide £31m of funding for the development of a £104m opera house in Cardiff by autumn 2004, built by Sir Robert McAlpine. [24-Jan-2002]
Huddersfield Town Football Club has been acquired by a consortium of local business people. [23-Jan-2002]
Coleraine Borough Council is to refurbish the Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart at a cost of almost £2m. [22-Jan-2002]
Luminar Leisure is to open a £2m Life entertainment venue at the Light on the Headrow development in Leeds next month, with the creation of 70 jobs. [21-Jan-2002]
Reading Borough Council has approved plans for the development of a new fitness club in the basement of the Broad Street Mall, including swimming pool and dance studios. [21-Jan-2002]
Accor is planning to open eight hotels in the UK this year, including three Ibis hotels, three Novotels, one Etap and one Sofitel, taking the chain to 91 by the end of 2004. [18-Jan-2002]
Wyre Forest District Council has approved plans from Fitness First for the development of a fitness centre on Foley Business Park in Kidderminster, with the creation of 30 jobs. [18-Jan-2002]
Chelmsford Borough Council is considering plans for the development of a £20m multi-purpose horseracing course and equestrian centre at the Essex County Showground by May 2003, with the creation of more than 140 jobs. [18-Jan-2002]
Bristol City Council has approved plans for the development of a two-storey visitors' centre at the Clifton Suspension Bridge by spring 2003. [18-Jan-2002]
National Museums & Galleries of Wales is looking into the possibility of developing a national sports museum for Wales, and suitable locations will be discussed with the Wales Tourist Board, the Welsh Local Government Association and the National Library for Wales. [17-Jan-2002]
Southampton City Council has agreed a development blueprint for the extension of Mayflower Park and the waterfront area at an estimated cost of £300m, and developers will be asked to submit proposals. [17-Jan-2002]
Pubmaster has acquired Pub.com for £17m, taking its chain of Scottish pubs from 33 to 71, and is now in talks to buy another chain of 20 pubs for £5m. [17-Jan-2002]
Exeter City Council has approved plans for the development of a £0.8m indoor tennis centre on the Exeter University campus. [17-Jan-2002]
Stevenage Borough Council has approved plans from Luminar Leisure for the £2m development of a new bar and nightclub at the vacant Gala bingo hall, with the creation of 100 jobs. [16-Jan-2002]
Wirral Council is considering plans to commission a £3m 150ft statue of Neptune on the banks of the Mersey, to form the centrepiece of any future tourism development. [16-Jan-2002]
Dudley Council is considering plans from the Black Country Museum for a £1.5m extension to house a new collection of historic cars and motorcycles. [16-Jan-2002]
Nottingham Forest supporters have set up a trust to raise £100m to buy the football club and secure its future. [16-Jan-2002]
The British Museum is planning to make cuts of at least 15%, including gallery closures and the loss of some of the 1,000-strong workforce. [16-Jan-2002]
Thurrock Council is seeking lottery funding for a £1.7m project to restore the historic Coalhouse Fort in East Tilbury. [15-Jan-2002]
Kettering Borough Council is in discussions with Kettering Town about the possibility of developing a £6m 6,000-capacity football stadium and sports complex. [14-Jan-2002]
Aberdeen City Council is considering plans for the development of a multi-purpose sports centre at the Westburn Tennis Centre. [14-Jan-2002]
Manchester City Council is to help fund the £20m transformation of the theatre at Wythenshawe Forum into an adult learning centre. [14-Jan-2002]
Dundee City Council is to consider plans from Linlathen Developments for the construction of a £25m centre of sporting excellence north of the Arbroath Road. [14-Jan-2002]
Esporta, the fitness club operator, has received takeover approaches from a number of potential bidders. [14-Jan-2002]
Northampton Borough Council is in discussions with Northampton Town about proposals for a takeover of the football club, which could lead to the development of a centre for sporting excellence at the Sixfields stadium. [11-Jan-2002]
Swindon Borough Council is to approve plans from Fleet Square Developments for the construction of a 123-bedroom seven storey hotel and restaurant in Harding Street. [11-Jan-2002]
Po Na Na is planning to expand its chain of 60 nightclubs and bars with 12 new outlets over the next year. [11-Jan-2002]
The Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre is to start work on a £18m expansion project next month, including the development of a main conference hall with a 2,000 audience capacity. [10-Jan-2002]
York City is facing the prospect of vacating its Bootham Crescent football stadium in June, unless new owners can be found to invest £4.5m in Bootham Crescent Holdings. [10-Jan-2002]
Groupe Chez Gerard has closed its Livebait Chelsea restaurant as part of a trading review that is likely to result in further write-downs in its chain of 28 outlets. [08-Jan-2002]
Aylesbury Vale District Council is to consider plans from Punch & Travel Inn for the development of a 40-bedroom motel in Buckingham town centre. [04-Jan-2002]
The East of England Agricultural Society is looking into the possibility of building a multi-million pound wildlife and cultural tropical centre at the Alwalton showground in Peterborough, using domes based on Cornwall's Eden Project. [02-Jan-2002]
Aberdeenshire Council is considering plans from Deveron Ten Pin Bowling for the development of a £0.4m bowling alley at a former fish factory in Macduff. [02-Jan-2002]