New frontier for development as Asian buffet chain makes debut

The gourmet Asian buffet chain COSMO is establishing a restaurant in the New Front leisure scheme in the city’s Merrion Centre.

The New Front development stands next to the 13,500 capacity Leeds Arena, which is due to open in September next year.

COSMO restaurants offer 120 dishes from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Mongolia, Singapore, Vietnam and India.

The chain specialises in live cooking demonstrations so customers can watch their food being prepared as part of the dining experience, at an ‘all you can eat’ set price.

Helen Beckett, the associate director for Town Centre Securities (TCS), the company behind the New Front Leisure development, said yesterday: “The New Front scheme is now 80 per cent let. We’re thrilled that COSMO has chosen Leeds for its first restaurant in the north.

“They are best in class for a fixed price gourmet buffet restaurant and will prove popular with arena visitors, shoppers and office workers alike.

“We are creating a vibrant leisure destination location, alongside the Leeds Arena which has the ambition to be one of the top five venues of its kind in the world. It will attract a million visitors and bring an estimated £25m into the Leeds economy every year. We expect to announce a new letting by the end of 2012.

“The arena is a key catalyst in the regeneration of the area.”

The New Front scheme will be a leisure destination with bars, cafes, restaurants and a gym along Merrion Way and Wade Lane.

New Front also includes an area designed for continental–style street café seating.

The development has a 1,000 space multi-storey car park, which will undergo a complete refurbishment and upgrade, creating state-of-the-art parking for shoppers, visitors and Arena users.

Leeds-based commercial law firm Shulmans acted on behalf of TCS.

BDP’s Manchester Studio has been appointed as the architects on the development and Savills and Brassington Rowan are the agents acting for TCS on the scheme.

There are seven units remaining, ranging from 400 sq ft (37 sq m) to 4, 893 sq ft (454 sq m).

TCS is a Leeds-based property investment and development company with assets of more than £300m.

TCS specialises in creating mixed use developments which are close to transport hubs in major cities across the UK.

The current portfolio delivers an annual income of more than £22m.

The Merrion Shopping Centre, which is owned and asset-managed by TCS, is a one million sq ft mixed use scheme in the centre of Leeds.

It has 100 shops, cafés and restaurants as well as office, hotel and leisure accommodation.

In November 2011, Leeds City Council gave the go-ahead to a £13m refurbishment of the Merrion Centre. The proposals included new shops, restaurants, a gym, and a revamped multi-storey car park.

Supporters believe the new Leeds Arena will attract thousands of visitors, and potential investors, to Leeds.

The Leeds Arena could host Davis Cup tennis and some of the biggest names in rock and classical music when it opens next year.

SMG Europe, the company that will operate the 13,500 capacity arena, plans to launch the venue with a season of performances from world class acts in September 2013.

Last month, Leeds City Council, Marketing Leeds and representatives from SMG Europe, which also operates the Manchester Arena, outlined the benefits that the arena would bring to Leeds.

Ben Williams, the new general manager of Leeds Arena, told the Yorkshire Post at the time: “We are in constant contact with promoters and agents.

“We’re looking to put forward a series of events which will reflect the diverse range of entertainment that will be on offer at the arena. We’re looking at rock, pop, family entertainment, comedians, and classical artists.

“It will be world-class entertainment but we can’t be specific just yet. It will be the first time people in Leeds will have been able to see shows of this scale in their own city.”

He added: “The arena is a very flexible space and will be able to stage some, although not all, sporting events.

“We can put the retractable seats back and move the floor seating around. We can accommodate tennis, so we’re in conversations with the Davis Cup for example, about hosting tennis at Leeds Arena and some of our other arenas.

“We could also put on basketball, with the Harlem Globetrotters for example.

“We’re talking about sport entertainment, so there’s also the potential for wrestling and boxing.”

It’s hoped that the arena will provide long term, high quality jobs in Leeds, at a time when many observers are concerned that the unemployment levels could rise, as Britain’s economy struggles to grow following the financial crisis.

Mr Williams added: “On an event day, there will be around 300 people making shows happen.

“A lot of those positions will be entry level jobs.

“We’re already working with Leeds City Council to look at job specifications.”