Adam and Stephen discuss a business communications merger, expansion for a gym operator and a hotel and wedding venue hitting the market.
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00:00A business communications merger, expansion for a gym operator and a hotel
00:04and wedding venue hitting the market, featuring today's business briefing.
00:07Good morning Adam, what's cut your eye this morning?
00:15We've got some big news coming out of Birmingham for a gym operator co-founded
00:19by a former Olympian. They've actually revealed plans to open a new venue at the
00:23£1.2 billion Paradise Birmingham development. This is with regards to
00:27Lux Fitness, which will be bringing a health and fitness club to the lower and upper ground
00:33floors of one centenary away. A building which is already home to major companies such as
00:38Goldman Sachs and Mills and Reeve, so definitely a prominent location. Paradise Birmingham will
00:43actually be the brand's fourth location after Bristol City Centre, Bristol Bedminster and the
00:49Manchester Royal Exchange. Lux Fitness, as previously mentioned, was founded by former Olympian
00:54Alan Condon and it will open its new site in late 2025.
00:57Oh good stuff.
00:58We've also got news of a really significant deal this morning. Virgin Media O2 and Daisy Group
01:03have announced plans to merge their direct B2B operations. Virgin Media UK will own 70% of the
01:10new business with Daisy Group holding the remaining 30% and the new business is expected to have annual
01:16revenues of about £1.4 billion. The new company will serve the communications and IT needs of thousands
01:23of UK businesses, including SMEs, small offices, right the way through to large organisations and public sector
01:31organisations. It's going to be led by the Daisy Group founder, Matthew Riley, who chaired the business
01:36with Joe Bertram, the managing director of Virgin Media O2 Business as the chief executive. Initially,
01:43both businesses will operate under their separate brands and will stick with their current basis.
01:48Lutz Schuller, the CEO of Virgin Media UK, said the deal would create a new British business
01:55connectivity powerhouse and would help support greater competition in the market. A really significant deal
02:00there. Certainly. Moving on to the hospitality industry now. With a South East Asian restaurant
02:05brand set to open its first ever Welsh outlet in Cardiff City Centre next month. This is Banana Tree.
02:11It officially opens its Cardiff site on Monday the 2nd of June in the city's Mill Lane, a location known
02:18for its dining and nightlife scene. It's located just a short walk from St David's Shopping Centre and it
02:24will be the brand's biggest restaurant to date with seating for 249 inside and 38 outside. The new
02:32banana tree has a menu spanning multiple cuisines like Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.
02:39The brand was actually founded in West London more than 30 years ago. It now operates 21 restaurants
02:45across the UK with recent openings including Manchester, Bath and Birmingham. So definitely a
02:52new dining spot for people in Cardiff to keep an eye out for.
02:55Great news. That's great news for the people down in our Welsh office. Certainly an option for them.
02:59Last thing to date, we've got the news that the former hotel and wedding venue in Kent has been
03:03brought to market. Watling Real Estate is marketing the Little Silver Country Hotel in the village of
03:09St Michael's. The venue features 16 en suite bedrooms as well as a bar and restaurant and hotel
03:15wedding function area. The accommodation total is about 10,000 square foot, a large venue there.
03:22The main part of the property dates back to around the mid-20th century. It has a mock Tudor facade
03:27but there are also a number of more recent extensions. The wider site also includes gardens and a large car park.
03:33Watling has been appointed by the receivers for the closure of the hotel earlier this year. The
03:39company said there was potential for redevelopment and the property could lend itself to alternative
03:44uses subject to planning approval. So it'll be interesting to see what the future holds there for
03:48an interesting property. Certainly will. Thanks for that, Stephen. You can read those stories and
03:53many more at insidermedia.com where you can subscribe to our newsletters and hear about upcoming events. Thank you.