Leisure and cinema operator The Light, which was backed by Luke Johnson of Risk Capital Partners in October 2024, has officially opened its latest and most ambitious venue in the heart of Huddersfield.
The Light has ambitious plans for growth, partly due to the rapid increase in profitability of the business, but also with the recent support of Barclays, who have provided a large facility, which will enable the company to invest over £15M in the next couple of years. Barclays are the perfect partner for The Light with their expertise in the leisure sector.
The Light Huddersfield, which is located within the Kingsgate Shopping Centre, has transformed an old House of Fraser into an exciting cinema and entertainment destination, offering 15 leisure activities and a 6-screen cinema over three floors and 70,000sq ft. The venue includes an indoor high ropes challenge, Star Quest Laser, a unique interactive football experience, mini-golf course with an animatronic dinosaur, bowling alley and much more.
The development is a key part of Kirklee’s Council’s regeneration programme for Huddersfield, helping to transform the town centre and make it a primary destination within West Yorkshire, bringing another 90 jobs to the area. Its central location, ease of access by road and rail and provision of good value parking make it an ideal location for The Light.
This opening marks another important milestone in the evolution of The Light from a traditional cinema provider to a diversified entertainment operator. The Light’s model is designed to help repurpose large under-utilised spaces as well as transforming under-performing cinemas on a commercially sustainable basis to ensure that cinema remains at the heart of communities and to provide customers with unique and high-quality experiences.
James Morris, The Light CEO, commented: “Huddersfield is the latest evolution of our entertainment model, which is continuing to deliver exciting results. With the backing of Risk Capital and Barclays, we now have the ability to accelerate our growth, which will help to re-purpose other spaces and cinemas across the UK, providing landlords and developers with a unique and commercially attractive solution, protecting cinema, re-imagining spaces and delighting customers. We are delighted to have been able to transform the House of Fraser in partnership with Kirklees Council and the Kingsgate Shopping Centre to create one of the most exciting indoor entertainment venues in the UK, and are immensely proud to be part of the regeneration of such an amazing town.”
