MERRY HILL’S NEW LEISURE QUARTER EMERGES AS IT STRIKES GOLD WITH THE OPENING OF HOLLYWOOD BOWL

Occupying 36,000 sq ft on the upper level, Hollywood Bowl Merry Hill contains 24 dedicated bowling lanes, including six exclusive VIP lanes. There is also a wealth of family-friendly food and drink options including burgers and hot dogs, a bespoke cocktail menu, and an amusement arcade area.

The opening of Hollywood Bowl delivers an anchor tenant for the newly formed leisure quarter, which is already home to the ever-popular Bon Pan Asian Restaurant and Wagamama. With another 10,000 sq ft of F&B and leisure space under offer, set to join the scheme in the coming months, Merry Hill has experienced a landmark year. Restaurant sales have risen 21.4% in the last 12 months, while footfall through Merry Hill’s main entrance for dining, adjacent to Nando’s, has gone up by 107% versus 2019 figures.

Laurence Keen, CFO at Hollywood Bowl Group, commented: “As the UK’s leading ten-pin bowling operator, we are proud that our state-of-the-art Hollywood Bowl is now open at Merry Hill. Our expansion plans and brand positioning are always carefully considered, and with Merry Hill’s community-focused approach and excellent tenant line-up it was a natural decision for us to come here. Being sought-after as an anchor for this new leisure quarter is a sign of the confidence Hollywood Bowl inspires, we couldn’t be happier to be such an important component of a top 10 UK leisure and retail destination and are looking forward to welcoming customers to our new centre.”

Jack Gordon, Senior Asset Manager at Sovereign Centros, added: “Hollywood Bowl’s launch signals a really exciting time for Merry Hill, adding another dimension to our expansive and dynamic variety of uses. There’s been significant evolution across the whole centre, but particularly in our leisure quarter, where we’ve taken a lot of care to curate a complete experience for our visitors, and this is only going to pick up pace, with a raft of new F&B operators set to join the line-up soon. Having exciting and renowned operators like Hollywood Bowl opening their doors is a sign of those plans coming to fruition, and we can’t wait to see our community experiencing it for themselves.”

This news follows the recent announcement that much-loved restaurant chain, Wagamama, has opened at Merry Hill, with the new location experiencing record levels of performance since the launch.

A Wagamama spokesperson said: “The recent opening at Merry Hill has been positive for Wagamama, trading ahead of expectations. We’re excited to be in this part of the centre, with Hollywood Bowl open and more elements coming into this new leisure hub.”