The Argus

Brighton Palace Pier is up for sale

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By Annabel Stock Reporter

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    1. Comment by lovinglife.

      another good job done by the council , but the owners of the pier have not helped , we as a family have not been on the pier since their bright idea of charging an entry fee , saving us a fortune on the machines

      • Comment by Rog Brown.

        Maintenence Millstone, about to fall into the sea, take the money and run. It is not a bill that B and H Council can afford after the Beryls Bike and Eyesore Fiascos lacking business sense and judgement.

        • Comment by Trevor Archard.

          I’ve owned couple businesses that area. The mistake they made from the start was throw off all the independent traders. You can’t have the whole pie. They then needed pay the salaries even on rainy days. Independent traders bring hard work and ideas. I bought £1000 of shares in the Pier group a year ago. It’s a lot to maintain that structure. It would be nice if the new owners put the theatre structure back as original. This is another case of a company coming to Brighton expecting to make a killing. But reality and the weather comes into play.

          • Comment by Jim Wallace.

            Sadly, with the rollout of bhcc's wonderful VG3 project, the writing is on the wall for many businesses based around the seafront.

            • Comment by The Astute Articulator.

              It'll be hard to sell this at much above a fairly nominal amount.

              It's a huge ongoing maintenance liability and piers have a terrible record for arson attacks so insurance costs will be through the roof. Business performance is very sensitive to external factors and events.

              In Brighton there's a particular uncertainty because the Council is pushing the city more and more towards a 'night time economy' place and that means more and more stag and hen groups, drinking, drugs, crime and raving. Not the sort of place where respectable families want to go.

              Whereas the Pier is a traditional family attraction with amusements and fairground rides. With the council's emphasis on giving out more and more booze licences and pushing the nightlife side , rather than cleaning the city up, clamping down on the drinking and drugs, getting rid of the city of sanctuary nonsense and making the place family friendly again, the pier will suffer further decline.

              The pier woman amused me a few months ago - and I pointed it out in The Argus at the time - when she blamed the poor performance of the Pier this year on bad summer weather..... just a month after the hottest summer on record and perfect seaside pier conditions. I knew then that the business was in financial difficulty.

              The introduction of the pier admission charge didn't help either and was a shocking business move that kept people off the pier.

              If they can sell it for £5 million they will have done well.

              • Reply by Roger Jolly.

                What's with the waffle that you said yesterday that you would contain?

            • Comment by Hugh Manne.

              40 years of greedy neoliberalism coming home to roost.

              It will end up like the West pier.

              • Comment by J Hills.

                The group has over £10mil in debts, the majority of which has to be repaid by the end of 2027. Throw in everything that has happened since Covid country wide, cost increases in literally every area that a business like this operates in, and local issues like the Albion fire.

                I can't see them getting back the £18mil paid. Which the group agrees with as they have changed the book value down to £13mil.

                This debt is the only reason the are selling the pier, have sold off the remaining bars and are trying to sell Lightwater Valley theme park at a £2mil loss, as well as a few other assets they own. They need the cash.

                • Reply by The Astute Articulator.

                  But only if you stand close to the edge of the cliff, by the fence,

                • Reply by Phantom of the argus.

                  Oh

              • Comment by Sustrans Boy.

                Next summer the whole area around the Pier and the adjacent seafront will feel the benefit of VG3.

                It's a win win situation for everyone, making the centre of our city safer and healthier for all!

                • Reply by Rog Brown.

                  Parallel Lies - Blondie wasn't it?

                • Reply by The Astute Articulator.

                  That was Parallel Lines.

              • Comment by Bobbie Monk.

                If it's profitable, then why would they sell it?

                • Comment by big urchin.

                  Subscriber

                  Bring back fishing at the end of the pier and free entry

                  • Reply by Hugh Manne.

                    "Give me this and make other people pay"

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