John Ashworth Associates

John Ashworth Associates is a UK consulting and business advisory firm providing services to the leisure, sports and tourism industries across the commercial, public and voluntary sectors. Our main areas of business comprise:

• Project concept and viability studies;  Business planning; Site development options appraisals; Economic impact assessments; Sports and recreation strategic planning;  Market demand appraisals including Soft market testing; Providing expert witness evidence; Open Space and PPG17 studies; Due diligence investigations.

Our areas of business are more fully described on the web site www.johnashworthassociates.com and you can find out more about the Pilates business in which we have an interest on www.perfectfitpilates.com

Welcome to our Bulletin Board, where you will find our latest news, views and case studies. Feel free to send us your comments on anything you see on the Board. We have included an archive of earlier posts, together with a Search facility to make it easy to find your way around.

Contact email: john@ashers.demon.co.uk; or call us on 01799 524475

We worked with Aecom on a Warranted Investment Appraisal of a proposed indoor golf arena in Holland. The design is in the shape of a golf club driver. A hotel, club facilities, retail and dining are located at the shaft end of the driver. The head is domed and covers 14,000 sq.m. of synthetic grass including practice pitching and chipping greens, bunkers and putting greens. 20 golf simulators and 28 indoor range bays also are included in the design.

Our task involved an assessment of the market for indoor golf, both locally and internationally, and quantification of visitor demand in terms of numbers and spend. We drew on examples within Holland and in the rest of Europe. Our findings fed into a model constructed by Aecom, through which the team were able to evaluate the level of capital investment which could be justified by estimated future streams of income and to propose changes to the concept where that would lead to improved income levels.

We have considerable experience of providing expert support in the planning application process. The current economic climate has dampened the enthusiasm of developers in the UK to promote new projects, but in spite of that, 2011 brought us two new cases.

The first concerned the proposed development of an old cinema where local planning policy required the continuation of some leisure use alongside more commercially attractive alternative uses; and in the second, we appeared at a local inquiry on behalf of a golf course owner applying for permission to build a second 18 hole golf course on his site using landfill.

Prior to that, we gave evidence at an appeal in a case where the developer applied to build a residential block on an existing tennis club site. As well, we provided an independent assessment at the request of the local planning authority of the business case for the construction of holiday lodges on a golf course. One of our associates, Bridget Baker Consulting, prepared evidence in support of an application for development of a 50 bedroom hotel and spa alongside a championship golf course. And we appeared to give evidence at an Independent Examination of a Local Action Plan for a new town within the Local Development Framework planning process of an authority in Cambridgeshire.

The issues that typically confront both applicants and planning authorities in these cases include the need to maintain leisure activity on a site, or make alternative provision close by, if the main purpose of the proposal is not leisure related, unless the applicant can demonstrate that there is no longer a local need for the leisure use; and the value of and rationale for developer contributions to community infrastructure created by the development. Then there are always the issues of building in environmentally sensitive locations and ensuring that national and local planning policies are complied with.

Leisure businesses have had mixed success in combating the economic recession. Whereas well run businesses in good locations and in the right sectors have maintained reasonable trading levels – the health & fitness sector has proved particularly resilient – others have suffered.

But the problem is not always at the operating unit level. Group finances may be overstretched, which can lead to decisions to offload individual properties that are not mainstream to the group’s core business. Or, creditors may have forced a sale. For buyers with in-house resources, there are good deals to be had, but a thorough understanding of the potential of the target business is essential if poor investments are to be avoided.

2011 saw us involved in assisting two prospective purchasers – one of a commercial golf club previously owned by Crown; and one of a resort hotel and spa placed in the hands of an Administrator. Our role in both cases has been to review the past and current trading performance of the business; assess the existing and likely future market demand; and prepare future earnings estimates on which a valuation of the business can be based and a bid formulated.

The first concluded successfully for our client purchaser; the second is ongoing.

We have helped several local authorities to review the strategic option of putting the management of their golf courses out to the private sector. We have worked alongside other members of the Golf Consultants Association, in particular Mark Smith of Smith Leisure, in order to give a complete turnkey service to our clients.

The process typically involves us reviewing the existing in house operation of the golf course and associated facilities to determine the extent of potential benefit to the local authority of outsourcing the management. Then if the potential is attractive, of coordinating a soft market testing campaign among private operators to confirm the level of interest. Formal procurement procedures can then be initiated if the local authority chooses to go ahead.

Golf courses that once were cash generators for authorities have suffered from competition from a growth in the number of commercial pay and play clubs, as well as from the national trend of fewer rounds of golf being played on the country’s golf courses. Private operators bring specialist golf management skills and in some cases, much needed new investment in courses and other facilities; and by providing the authorities with a guaranteed rental income, take away the risk of losses.

However, in these difficult economic times, willing operators are not so easy to come by; and only the right deals will attract the market.

We have been involved with two local authorities recently where a formal procurement process has been instituted. EU procurement rules are complicated and can get in the way of a successful outcome if not managed well.  Both procurements reached a successful conclusion via different paths. In one, the golf course was let to a private operator in a straight forward property deal. In the other, we followed the competitive dialogue process, which led to different management and financial solutions from four shortlisted bidders.

We assisted South Bucks District Council to evaluate the business case for the construction of a new golf clubhouse at Farnham Park Golf Course. The alternative would be to repair and refurbish the existing clubhouse.

The new clubhouse will have a floor space area of about 900m2. The Council plans to hold private functions such as weddings and training seminars, as well as catering for the needs of golf societies and corporate/charity days.

We have built a financial model of the operation of the new clubhouse, enabling us to test the impact on the viability of the proposed development of changes in key variables such as visitor numbers to the golf course and green fee prices. We have also analysed the local market for golf in terms of supply and demand and the level of local competition.

We have been retained by Golfzon, the world’s biggest producer of golf simulators, to assist the company in their plans to launch their products into the UK market.

The company, headquartered in Korea, has grown with remarkable speed since 2000 taking advantage of golfers’ desire the world over to enjoy their sport whatever the time of day and whatever the weather. They not only dominate the Korean market but are the market leaders in Japan and China too. Now they are rolling out their product range around the world and across Europe, with particular focus on the UK.

Backed by a large technical group back home, Golfzon offers a number of unique characteristics that have helped them dominate the markets they serve: the system incorporates a unique swing plate teeing area which moves to match the lie of the ground on which the golfer’s ball has settled before the next shot. The 3D graphics are second to none with thousands of photos used to create the most authentic representation of top golf courses possible: golfers can even see the clouds scudding by, the waves on the lakes and ponds and the grasses waving in the wind.

Behind this sits a system (My Swing Motion) that can allow each golfer to store their playing records and record personal swing characteristics: a great way for teachers to teach and golfers to learn. This is backed by the analysis system made up of about 170 infra red sensor components accurately measuring speed, trajectory, hook, slice, draw, and fade.

There is even the opportunity to play against friends and colleagues remotely: they don’t have to be in the same room or even the same town.

Golfzon have entered into agreements with over 140 courses around the world, giving players a wide choice of virtual courses to play, including some of the most sought-after like St Andrew’s Old Course, Pebble Beach, host to this year’s US Open and Kiawah Island, venue for the 1991 Ryder Cup.

We have successfully identified a UK distributor for Golfzon and an agreement has been concluded. A demonstration model can be viewed at the distributor’s premises. Finance can be arranged through a leasing scheme. Anyone interested in exploring purchase of a simulator should contact us in the first instance.

We were commissioned by PKF to advise on the likely viability in the UK of a unique surfing concept based around an artificial wave in a small pool. The pools are a magnet to create a lively entertainment venue attracting a wider range of customers than just the boarding community, which itself could be attracted across all disciplines – surfers, snowboarders, skateboarders, wakeboarders and windsurfers.

Boarders must learn to handle 100,000 gallons of water coming at them as fast as 30 mph. Integral to the design are event areas located around the wave pools providing spaces for live performances and private parties. The keys to success with the concept are plenty of spectator room with food and beverages, and locating the attractions in an area where patrons are likely to spend a lot of money on retail and food.

We worked with Bridget Baker Consulting to assess the viability of proposals for a Sports Village in the Derbyshire Peak District of England.

The concept takes something from Center Parcs, something from theme parks and something from waterparks. Accommodation is provided in lodges for sale, apartments to rent and in a 200 bedroom hotel. The sporting theme is generated by a football academy including indoor and outdoor 5-a-side pitches; a tennis and badminton academy; an adventure sports feature; a golf course; a health & fitness centre and spa; kids world and a water park.

The concept is unique in the UK, but is consistent with trends in the development of holiday villages, theme parks and water parks.

Center Parcs forest villages combine a range of outdoor and indoor sports and recreational facilities including a tropical water park with self catering and serviced accommodation into a short break holiday village. Theme parks such as Alton Towers have added serviced accommodation to convert day visitor attractions into destination resorts and to extend customer stay times beyond a day visit. Although water parks in the UK have not yet added serviced accommodation to the mix, in the USA, linking indoor water parks with hotels alongside other recreational facilities has become an established formula in resort development.

The satisfactory conclusion of negotiations with a hotel operator will signal the next step in pushing the project forward.

We were commissioned by the Council to provide an independent assessment of the business case for proposed developments at Malton Golf Club in support of the club’s planning application assembled by Bidwells. The developments involved: extension of the clubhouse to add extra function space and dining area; construction of new pro shop; and erection of six holiday lodges. The site of the club is sensitive being located in the countryside and therefore subject to national and local policies concerning countryside development.

We researched and assessed the financial viability of the proposed development and advised on the appropriateness of the scale of the proposed extensions to the clubhouse.

Based on our report and Bidwells planning submission, the Council granted planning permission.

Golf clubs need to consider every potential source of income, particularly in the present economic climate. Clubs with large clubhouses which in the good times could generate revenue from functions business can suffer from the overhead cost of wasted space when times are hard. Ideally, clubs need an alternative use that brings in a new market to add to their customer base. Pilates offers one such use.

Rooms can be hired out to Pilates teachers to run classes at an hourly rate; but that generates small levels of income and may cost more to administer than the benefits it provides. For clubs with surplus space prepared to accept a more permanent arrangement, a rental agreement for a Pilates studio could be the answer.

We own and operate a Pilates studio located in a golf club in Hertfordshire, UK (see www.perfectfitpilates.com). We rent about 1500 sq.ft. of space at a commercial rent. The studio is divided into two parts by a partition wall, one part used for mat classes, the other for exercise on Pilates machines. The club provided the shell, and we have invested in the fit out and equipment.

The arrangement is good for the club and good for the studio. The club benefits from a guaranteed annual rent and from a new visitor profile for the clubhouse. Pilates customers use the café and bar and bring potential new business to these outlets on a year round basis. Unlikely though it may be, even some of the golf members have seen the benefit of Pilates as a means of strengthening core muscles and improving flexibility – there is a synergy between Pilates and golf and a strong case for the argument that performance on the golf course can be improved through a regular Pilates exercise regimen.

Our studio has around 250-300 regular clients. We run about 20 mat classes per week, mostly on midweek mornings and evenings, with a maximum of 10 per class. As well, there are machine classes and one on one sessions with an instructor. Exercise programmes are low impact and not disruptive to other use of the clubhouse – no thumping music, for example.

There is a great opportunity for Pilates studios in the UK. They are relatively few and far between, particularly outside the Greater London area. One constraint has been the scarcity of properly qualified instructors. Another is the viability of the business model.  Sharing clubhouse facilities including changing rooms and car parks with the golf club helps viability. But as with many leisure businesses, location is crucial.

The market for Pilates is growing in the wake of the improved participation in all forms of health and fitness. Latest survey data suggests that about 1% of the adult population participates in Pilates in England. Our experience suggests that a population of about 25,000 within a 15 minute drive time, without direct competition, is needed for a viable business.  Surprisingly, the mainstream health & fitness club sector does not compete directly with the Pilates market – Pilates enthusiasts represent a distinct, and growing, market segment.

The location criteria mean that not all golf clubs are suitable locations for Pilates studios – but for those that are, with space to spare, a Pilates studio is one supplementary use worthy of consideration.