Eastleigh’s £25m Swan Centre leisure development has brought a major boost to the town centre in its first six months of trading.
Despite tough economic conditions, the mix of restaurants, cinema and bowling has brought hundreds of thousands of visitors to the town.
Since opening at Easter, Vue Cinema has attracted over 200,000 film-goers who have enjoyed the 3D facilities, luxury seats and wide choice of movies. They have eaten their way through over 22,000 cartons of popcorn and put away more than 50,000 drinks.
Meanwhile, AMF Bowling’s 20 lane state-of-the-art bowling centre is trading at over 20% up on their projections and predict a bumper festive season.
And Nando’s 105 seat restaurant has traded strongly from the outset, with nearby Frankie & Benny's Italian New York style diner regularly exceeding budgets by up to 30%. Both restaurants have taken strong bookings for Christmas.
Swan Centre manager Dee Buffone says: “We are delighted with the success of the new leisure complex. To date, the centre has created 135 new jobs and we hope that over the next six months this figure will rise even further, helping Eastleigh to buck the national economic trend. We are looking forward to an excellent festive season and hope we can continue to show local people and businesses just what superb facilities they have on their doorstep."