The London Borough of Newham has today announced that it has chosen Aspers as the winner of the competition to operate a new casino in the Borough.
The 65,000 sq ft casino will be located in the Central Arcade at the new Westfield Stratford City at the heart of Newham and will be the first of its kind to open in the UK, creating up to 440 new jobs. Aspers is committed to paying the London Living Wage or higher for all staff. It will have internal and external access as part of the round the clock leisure and entertainment offer at Westfield Stratford City.
Westfield Stratford City is located close to Stratford's extensive domestic and international transport connections and is the prestigious gateway to the 100-acre Olympic Park which is home to the iconic Olympic Stadium which is now confirmed to be West Ham's new ground, and the Aquatics Centre. It is set to become London's most exciting new entertainment venue both for domestic and overseas visitors opening ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Damian Aspinall, Chairman of Aspers, said: "This will be Aspers' most exciting project to date. We are delighted that, after a detailed and comprehensive assessment, Newham's Licensing Committee has recognised that our bid delivers the best operator in the best location within the best development. We now look forward to turning our dream into reality over the coming months."
"The Aspers Casino will be the icing on the cake for our leisure and entertainment offer at Westfield Stratford City" said Michael Gutman, Managing Director for Westfield in the UK/Europe and New Markets.
"We believe the entertainment and retail offer we have created for Westfield Stratford City will prove to be a real game-changer for consumers on the Eastern side of the capital. This will be the most exciting and comprehensive lifestyle and leisure space that.
Westfield has created following on from the huge appeal we have generated in the indoor and outdoor entertainment areas at Westfield London. Our Vue cinema at Westfield London is frequently the number one grossing cinema in the UK and the performance of many of our dining outlets are the top performing outlets in the country in their respective groups. This is the first time our extensive entertainment line-up has included a casino."
The new casino is a major part of the overall leisure and entertainment offer at Westfield Stratford City which includes a state of the art all-digital Vue cinema with 2,832 seats across 14 screens, a 14-lane bowling alley and a total of 617 hotel rooms across three high quality hotels including a four-star flagship Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites for executive accommodation and a Premier Inn.
As in Westfield London, food will also play a crucial role in the lifestyle offer at Westfield Stratford City offering 50 places to dine across a number of distinct dining areas with over 2,000 seats. The Central Arcade, located at the heart of the scheme and close to the entrance to the new Aspers casino, will be home to leading family restaurants such as Giraffe, Las Iguanas, GBK and Wagamama. An outdoor plaza will also offer alfresco dining with unique and spectacular views overlooking the Olympic Stadium.
The Central arcade will host the next evolution of the highly successful dining area at Westfield London known as the Balcony with 13 fully licenced food outlets such as Pho, Comptoir Libanais and Yo Sushi.
Aspers is a socially responsible gaming operator and will be introducing its 'Community Action for Responsible Gaming' forum to Newham. The forum is a unique and bespoke vehicle for communicating within the local community.
Westfield Stratford City opens in September this year.
www.aspersstratford.co.uk
ENDS
Westfield Group
The Westfield Group (ASX Code: WDC) is an internally managed, vertically integrated, shopping centre group undertaking ownership, development, design, construction, funds/asset management, property management, leasing and marketing activities and employing over 4,000 staff worldwide. The Westfield Group has interests in and operates one of the world's largest shopping centre portfolios with investment interests in 119 shopping centres across Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, encompassing around 24,000 retail outlets and total assets under management in excess of A$58 billion.
Aspers
Aspers is a high quality and upscale British casino operator. It is a joint venture between the Aspinall family and Crown Limited, one of the world's leading gaming companies which is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Aspers has a distinguished track record in the development of popular and successful leisure, entertainment and gaming complexes. Its business strategy is to be a leader in the UK industry by creating a portfolio of urban entertainment and gaming facilities which are operated responsibly and in partnership with local communities but which also entertain and excite their customers.
Aspers properties deliver real economic and social benefits to local people through jobs, training and investment and in this way they contribute to sustainable urban regeneration.
Aspers currently has some 700 employees and owns and operates Aspinalls Club in Mayfair (which is an internationally renowned, ultra premium gaming venue) and three Aspers Casinos (in Newcastle, Swansea and Northampton).