Irvine Bay – a land of opportunity for retail and hospitality sectors

The growing opportunities for hospitality and retail developers and operators have been highlighted in two successful events run by Irvine Bay Regeneration Company.

Briefings for developers and operators from the two sectors were held in Edinburgh and Glasgow in the past few days to proactively market development opportunities that exist in the scenic 14 mile stretch of Ayrshire coastline that lies close to the south of Glasgow.

The URC (Urban Regeneration Company) ran successful briefing events and familiarisation trips to the area for developers last year, and this year’s events were designed to build further on that success. This year’s events will also be followed by a familiarisation trip to the area to visit some of the key projects and sites at a later stage.

At the briefings, attendees heard that Irvine Bay Regeneration Company has been able to help the development community through the difficult financial climate via a combination of partnerships and innovative, flexible solutions that can include gap-funding.

That has seen progress continue on a number of exciting flagship projects, such as The Ayrshire £60million golf complex at Irvine, and the transformation of Ardrossan Marina.

Chief Executive Patrick Wiggins is confident that the company’s creative approach to working with private and public sector partners will continue to ensure significant progress is made, and that opportunities can continue to grow and be grasped. He said: “Irvine Bay benefits from having an Urban Regeneration Company in place, with its ability to make things happen. Because of this, our area is being transformed and some real opportunities for niche retailers and hotel and hospitality developers are opening up.”