Richard Branson enters the licensed arena
Planes, trains and automobiles will shortly be joined by pubs and bars in the Virgin portfolio when Richard Branson makes his first move into the UK licensed trade.
The Virgin boss, one of Britain's wealthiest entrepreneurs, is an investor in MagiCorp Entertainment, the US franchise business that will shortly open the biggest licensed venue in Britain.
The 38,000 sq ft bar in Manchester, called Lucid, will feature sports-led entertainment, dining areas, three bars and operate with a 2am licence.
The £8.5m complex is part of the Print Works development in Manchester that is already home to a multi-screen cinema and a Hard Rock Casino.
The Manchester Lucid will be followed by a second outlet in Toronto, Canada. Two further sites in Canada and one in San Francisco have been secured. Three further UK sites have been identified in Liverpool, Nottingham and Stevenage.
MagiCorp, which recently entered a franchising agreement with Noble House Leisure, was founded 10 years ago by Michael Wilkings.
The company's first project was an American-style entertainment centre in a 1.5 million-square-foot shopping centre in Nagoya, Japan.
"We believe that Lucid is the best location-based entertainment concept out there," he said. "It's the best use of technology and space and we think it can go a very long way."
The entire space will operate under the Lucid name, with no concessions or sub-tenanted areas. The venue will feature 20ft screens that will show sports events and allow customers to play computer games.
"This will not be some tacky sports bar," added Mr Wilkings. "It is a high quality design, very technology-orientated, and it will not just show football and cricket but a host of extreme sports.
"We are also geared to switch the entertainment to music on a Friday and Saturday night." The venue will open in February, 2003.
Mr Branson's Virgin Entertainment Group has invested £3.5m in MagiCorp through a debenture with an equity option. The bond could be converted to an equity stake worth 20 per cent of the company.
The move will see pubs added, albeit indirectly, to a Branson empire that already transcends markets ranging from mobile phones and personal finance to books and wine, travel and even bridal wear.
The Virgin conglomerate employs 25,000 people and has yearly sales in excess of £3bn.
Mr Branson started Virgin in the 1970s with a student magazine and a small mail order music company.
Pictured: Artist impression of Lucid
