£14m casino plan at city centre landmark is a gamble too far

AN iconic building has been put on the market after plans to turn it into a Las Vegas-style casino complex collapsed.

The former Majestyk night club in Leeds, which is owned by Luminar Leisure, was once the city's largest night club, with a 3,310 capacity, and a popular venue until it closed in 2006.

Ambitious 14m plans would have seen the disused Grade II listed building in City Square become a venue for gambling, cabaret and live entertainment. But the application was rejected by Leeds City Council and Leeds Crown Court turned down a subsequent appeal in January.

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The building is now not in use but has seen life as a cinema, bingo hall and night club.

Property consultancy Gerald Eve, which is marketing the site, is keeping an open mind about the building's future use.

It believes the site could be used for leisure, office or retail purposes.

Chris Ford, partner at Gerald Eve, said: "The Majestyk is a building steeped in history, from its origins as one of the country's largest cinemas to later playing host to pop acts such as Jason Donovan and Chesney Hawkes.

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"We are sure that its iconic status and prime location in the centre of Leeds will attract strong interest from developers and occupiers hoping to reinvigorate this much-loved landmark."

Offers are being invited for the freehold building with vacant possession.

Mr Ford added: "We are expecting a range of bids for it. There are investors out there with money still who might be tempted to buy it. Or there may well be Leeds entrepreneurs who spot an opportunity.

"There are still deals being done – more so than this time last year and we hope it will attract strong interest."

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Majestyk was built as the Majestic cinema in 1921, and over the years became a bingo hall and then a nightclub.

Luminar Leisure inherited the nightclub in 2001 when it took over from Northern Leisure.

The company, which also owned the nearby super night club Creation, decided to close Majestyk and reopen it as a casino because the two night clubs attracted similar types of customer.

The developer, Waterimage, was planning to call it Majestic Casino – the changed spelling a return to the 1921 cinema name.

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In a 35-page judgment revealed last month, Judge Jennifer Kershaw said the appeal for the proposed casino was turned down because it would not add anything to the gaming facilities already available in Leeds.

The court heard that industry statistics suggest that existing casinos in Leeds are operating at around 50 per cent of their capacity.

Luminar said at the time that it was "very disappointed" by the outcome.

Existing casinos in Leeds include the Alea at Clarence Dock and the Grosvenor on Merrion Way.

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A larger "new generation" gaming complex is also in the pipeline, although a decision has yet to be taken on its operator or location.

Dr Kevin Grady, director of the Leeds Civic Trust heritage watchdog, wants to see the building turned into a live entertainment venue.

"Majestyk was originally built as a cinema, so in an ideal world it would be a live entertainment venue," he said.

"From a heritage point of view it is an interesting building and part of the grand composition of City Square so we don't want it sitting there idle and decaying, but we want a use that doesn't detract from other amenities in the city centre."

From cinema to night club

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Majestyk was built as the Majestic cinema in 1921, one of the biggest in the country with 2,392 seats.

In 1969 it became a bingo hall. Majestyk night club opened in 1993.

Luminar Leisure inherited the night club in 2001 when it took over from Northern Leisure.

A massive fundraising benefit to raise cash for the Asian tsunami victims took place in January 2005 with music and soap stars

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Former Emmerdale actress Sheree Murphy and ex-Leeds United footballer Harry Kewell met there.

Luminar later decided to close it and reopen it as a casino but the plans were rejected by Leeds City Council and the subsequent appeal failed.