Brighton i360 construction update.

[Boys 9d]

It is and the starting tower is in place already.

View attachment 86786

With all those steps it's no wonder you need to slide down.

 

[Brok]

It is and the starting tower is in place already.

View attachment 86786

Mushy peas. Never used to like them in Sussex, but up here they are fantastic.

 

[Bry Nylon]

I predict it will be massively successful - summer tourists & foreign students will love it. Guaranteed queues every summer

How can any Brightonian NOT be excited by this?

We are watching the construction of an iconic landmark in our city which will be enjoyed by millions of people over generations - decades, maybe even centuries.

It isn't even 2 years old and it's dying on it's arse already.

 

[The Birdman]

Been on it but I am concerned that Brighton spend that sort of money but struggle to keep the streets clean and keep the Victorian seafront repaired which is so important to the towns economy.
Also letting the west pier die.

 

[banjo]

Norm doing a gig for a select few tonight.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Been on it but I am concerned that Brighton spend that sort of money but struggle to keep the streets clean and keep the Victorian seafront repaired which is so important to the towns economy.
Also letting the west pier die.

Brighton hasn't spent money on the i360, as has been pointed out many times. The council borrowed from a government fund and loaned the money on to the i360 at a higher rate, so it actually profits from the deal as long as the 1360 doesn't actually lose money. The fund doesn't make these loans for things such as street cleaning.

The council didn't let the West Pier die. The Heritage Lottery fund did that when it withdrew its offer of funding after the 2003 arson attack, even though an English Heritage report stated that restoration was still possible.

 

[Bry Nylon]

Brighton hasn't spent money on the i360, as has been pointed out many times. The council borrowed from a government fund and loaned the money on to the i360 at a higher rate, so it actually profits from the deal as long as the 1360 doesn't actually lose money.

"Brighton's i360 is seeking a new deal on paying back its £36m loan from the city council after failing to get enough visitors.The owners want to restructure the loan and reduce the annual payments from £570,000 to £25,000 until 2024." Source: UK-BBC News, June 2018.

So the Council borrowed £36m from the Government, loaned the £36m to the i360 folk on commercial terms and now they are struggling to make anything even close to the repayments. What happens to the Council's original £36m loan from the Government if i360 can't pay? I guess they are saddled with the debt regardless?

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

"Brighton's i360 is seeking a new deal on paying back its £36m loan from the city council after failing to get enough visitors.The owners want to restructure the loan and reduce the annual payments from £570,000 to £25,000 until 2024." Source: UK-BBC News, June 2018.

So the Council borrowed £36m from the Government, loaned the £36m to the i360 folk on commercial terms and now they are struggling to make anything even close to the repayments. What happens to the Council's original £36m loan from the Government if i360 can't pay? I guess they are saddled with the debt regardless?

If the i360 fails, yes. In which case we blame the Greens and Tories, who arranged the loan. But we're a long way from that.

 

[Bry Nylon]

If the i360 fails, yes. In which case we blame the Greens and Tories, who arranged the loan. But we're a long way from that.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out, that is for sure.

As I understand it, the i360 cost around £45m to build, so the council loan must have funded approx 85% of the project. That is a crazy and quite breath-taking level of risk to expose yourself to, for what is essentially a new and unproven enterprise. One thing for private enterprise to take that risk and either reep the rewards or pay the consequences. Quite another for a council funded by taxpayers. It's verging on gross negligence to take on that level of unsecured risk.

 

[Official Old Man]

FatBoy Slim gig.
Got to say it looked fabulous and would have me queing up to get on the i360.
https://www.facebook.com/cerclemusic/videos/1118783988276584/
But don't worry, I'll wake up tomorrow and hate the thing again.

 

[Bry Nylon]

A quick i360 update, from the Argus website a few days ago:

BRIGHTON'S i360 lost nearly £4million in a year as visitor numbers dropped by almost a third.

The seafront observation tower sponsored by British Airways saw a 31 per cent fall in customers in its second year of trading, down from 503,000 to 344,853.

Its revenues fell from about £7.1million to just over £6million for the year ending June 30, 2018. And the company made an overall loss of more than £3.8million, compared to a loss of more than £2.7million the year before. Bosses at the attraction pointed out that this figure includes loan repayments and business rates, plus the fact that the i360 tower depreciates in value by £1.2million a year. They said the company made an operating profit of £600,000 over the year.

As previously reported, the i360’s revenue shortfall meant it was unable to pay the full amounts owed to Brighton and Hove City Council in June and December 2018. In December the council agreed to a “temporary deferral” of the unpaid debts to allow the attraction to continue operating. Independent advisors appointed by the council found that the “lack of a strong and properly funded sales and marketing strategy” was a major reason behind the fall in visitor numbers, according to the report published this week.

The company has appointed a new executive director, David Sharpe, formerly managing director of the London Eye, in a bid to boost the attraction’s performance.

A new general manager, Ian Hart, and a new sales and marketing manager have also been appointed. The new management team is “undertaking a full review” of the business to find where savings can be made and revenues increased, the report says. A “major risk” facing the company, according to the report, is that it will prove “unable to increase revenues to the degree required to make possible a financial restructure of its loans”.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

It is and the starting tower is in place already.

View attachment 86786

Are you sure that's not the starting point for the Amex Monorail?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

WAY more iconic and value-for-money things to see and do on a day trip to Brighton than go on that overpriced lame generic thing. Ditto for people who live here.

 

[vegster]

A quick i360 update, from the Argus website a few days ago:

BRIGHTON'S i360 lost nearly £4million in a year as visitor numbers dropped by almost a third.

The seafront observation tower sponsored by British Airways saw a 31 per cent fall in customers in its second year of trading, down from 503,000 to 344,853.

Its revenues fell from about £7.1million to just over £6million for the year ending June 30, 2018. And the company made an overall loss of more than £3.8million, compared to a loss of more than £2.7million the year before. Bosses at the attraction pointed out that this figure includes loan repayments and business rates, plus the fact that the i360 tower depreciates in value by £1.2million a year. They said the company made an operating profit of £600,000 over the year.

As previously reported, the i360’s revenue shortfall meant it was unable to pay the full amounts owed to Brighton and Hove City Council in June and December 2018. In December the council agreed to a “temporary deferral” of the unpaid debts to allow the attraction to continue operating. Independent advisors appointed by the council found that the “lack of a strong and properly funded sales and marketing strategy” was a major reason behind the fall in visitor numbers, according to the report published this week.

The company has appointed a new executive director, David Sharpe, formerly managing director of the London Eye, in a bid to boost the attraction’s performance.

A new general manager, Ian Hart, and a new sales and marketing manager have also been appointed. The new management team is “undertaking a full review” of the business to find where savings can be made and revenues increased, the report says. A “major risk” facing the company, according to the report, is that it will prove “unable to increase revenues to the degree required to make possible a financial restructure of its loans”.

Sounds like it is well past saving if Harty's been brought in ?

 

[Drumstick]

Noticed a lot of publicity stuff being done with it recently. I think that is the way forward for it, I’ve been up it once, thought it was cool and may do it again at some point, I can see those party in the sky or abseiling things bringing in more money though.

I think it’ll be okay longer term, I think they just over estimated how popular it would be to get the loan.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[knocky1]

Sounds like it is well past saving if Harty's been brought in ?

I can guess who he'll get to keep the windows clean.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

A quick i360 update, from the Argus website a few days ago:

BRIGHTON'S i360 lost nearly £4million in a year as visitor numbers dropped by almost a third.

The seafront observation tower sponsored by British Airways saw a 31 per cent fall in customers in its second year of trading, down from 503,000 to 344,853.

Its revenues fell from about £7.1million to just over £6million for the year ending June 30, 2018. And the company made an overall loss of more than £3.8million, compared to a loss of more than £2.7million the year before. Bosses at the attraction pointed out that this figure includes loan repayments and business rates, plus the fact that the i360 tower depreciates in value by £1.2million a year. They said the company made an operating profit of £600,000 over the year.

As previously reported, the i360’s revenue shortfall meant it was unable to pay the full amounts owed to Brighton and Hove City Council in June and December 2018. In December the council agreed to a “temporary deferral” of the unpaid debts to allow the attraction to continue operating. Independent advisors appointed by the council found that the “lack of a strong and properly funded sales and marketing strategy” was a major reason behind the fall in visitor numbers, according to the report published this week.

The company has appointed a new executive director, David Sharpe, formerly managing director of the London Eye, in a bid to boost the attraction’s performance.

A new general manager, Ian Hart, and a new sales and marketing manager have also been appointed. The new management team is “undertaking a full review” of the business to find where savings can be made and revenues increased, the report says. A “major risk” facing the company, according to the report, is that it will prove “unable to increase revenues to the degree required to make possible a financial restructure of its loans”.

You mean the original predictions of numbers were 'wrong' ? Who would have thought it ? I'm surprised nobody pointed it out at the time ...... oh

 

[Stat Brother]

Look at what we could have won:-

[tweet]1139283684639608844[/tweet]

 

[Jack Straw]

That is absolutely amazing. Rides have come on some what since the helter-skelter!

 

[goldstone]

I went up the i360 for the first time a few weeks back on a nice clear day. Much as I'd expected. OK, but not impressive enough to want to go again. Problem is there's just not enough to see. Brighton's skyline is just not interesting enough. As I predicted it's going to be a very big white elephant. The money should have gone into restoring the West Pier.