Page 22 - #203 November 2025

COVER STORY

Entertainment at Every Turn

Once home to the only real-snow indoor ski slope and padel, alongside treasured family favourites
in Scotland, GRID is scheduled to take over the - gymnastics, adventure golf and a new IMAX
current XSite Braehead scheme in Glasgow in Laser cinema. New ‘all day’ F&B offers add
appeal for a new cohort of daytime visitors - and
January 2026, crowning a multi-million pound a constantly revolving agenda of events and
transformation project that is guaranteed to commercialisation activations (delivered by
provide entertainment around every corner. As a specialist consultant Clicks To Bricks) ice the
role model example of repositioning a 20 year old family-focused leisure cake with unexpected treats which also drive net
revenue. Cooper and the team want GRID to feel
investment, the redevelopment aims to lay the track for a new kind of ‘always on’, like there is entertainment around
entertainment experience. RLI caught up with XPE Group Director every corner, constantly renewing, so repeat
Pete Cooper to find out more about the overall vision for the complex. visits become a compelling preference.
Delivering the reworked space, leasing and
Taking over XSite from its administrators XPE Group embarked on a journey to transform brand strategy is just the start of the investment
back in 2022, the scheme XPE Group inherited the scheme into a resilient, high performance and transformation process for GRID. The next
was outdated and under-invested. Some shop international grade investment asset. stage is about going into real detail, maximising
units had never been let since completion in Discussing what prompted the decision the asset growth potential through XPE Group’s
2006, others were let but not operating and the to reposition the scheme, Cooper explains physical and digital stewardship.
anchor tenant, a real snow ski-slope, was shut but how consumer expectations have shifted At the heart of the new development is the
still consuming energy at an exceptionally high dramatically as people look for more than game-changing K1 Speed, a brilliant world-class
rate to avoid a waterfall into the cinema below. transactional retail, instead wanting more e-karting phenomenon, a US-based business
All this however, hid the potential of what lay social, memorable and interactive offerings with a strong global presence - something
underneath. A new family-oriented catchment that are worth travelling for. Cooper mentions would not have been possible
was moving into the thousands of homes Ren- “Buildings today cannot just rely on a rel- without the unique column free space the ski
frewshire Council were delivering with partners atively fixed ‘monochrome’ offer, day in day slope removal secured. K1 reinvents the build-
-
nearby, the new Renfrew bridge was under con out; the more successful venues are constantly ing’s identity, as karting replaces the regional
struction near the site which would enable easy adapting their character and we will all be seeing impact skiing provided back in 2006.
access to affluent customer markets north of the more of this in places like GRID, as well as shop- David Danglard, K1 Speed CEO commented:
River Clyde and solving the ski-slope problem ping centres, airports, retail parks and even well “Our new centre at GRID will launch our most
offered potential to re-purpose around 10,000sq curated town centres. It’s how physical will keep ambitious project yet: the world’s longest indoor
m of column free triple height internal space. pace with and even beat digital when customers go-kart track. This record-breaking distinction
“We saw an opportunity to refocus, tune up, make their choices.” is designed not only to thrill our millions of loyal
broaden the appeal, activate dormant space XPE Group focused on simple customer racers worldwide but also to attract a new wave
and reposition the centre as a true regional oriented principles in arriving at a strategy that of drivers, all eager to experience this one-of-a-
attraction,” highlights Cooper. “So as a newly worked - a research led rebalanced offer gener- kind race circuit.”
appointed board we brought in new invest- ating a strong regional appeal; a laser focus on The cumulative momentum of all this
ment, asset and property management skills to local advocacy through stakeholder engagement has driven a bold decision to re-name XSite,
create a vision, a strategy and a fully analysed, and event management; an easy to use customer creating clear space between the old, the new
risk managed delivery programme.” experience and a relentless attention to detail - all and based on a play between the site’s original
Working with retail asset management spe- feeding into the right marketing platform. use as a power station and the project’s new
cialists Pradera Lateral, destination marketing This approach gave XPE Group confidence to anchor ‘...folks, please take your place on ...the
specialists BWP and property manager Savills, introduce entirely fresh uses such as e-karting ‘GRID’. The catalyst effect of getting all this

22 Retail & Leisure International November 2025