give comfort in the viability of projects to internal decision makers before committing much greater sums of capital on the detailed design and then construction. That same bankability applies to external decision makers when raising investment from banks, private equity and other sources and LDP is the most trusted name in bankable feasibility industry wide. Most projects will require some form of funding and without a feasibility study it will likely be much more challenging to secure. Any credible and bankable feasibility should be independent and rely on the application of benchmark data from existing regional or international examples.
• Planning. Planning is a critical component of the development process. There are of course a wide range of considerations when seeking planning approval ranging from traffic to ecological, to infrastructure. However, one detail local or regional planning authorities will be keen to understand is economic impact. Showing the number of jobs and the gross value added( GVA) and other direct and indirect impacts that a project can contribute to the region’ s economy can give persuasive arguments for not only backing projects, but also potentially securing public sector funding and support in the form of grants and infrastructure. All these impacts can be directly calculated off the feasibility study.
• Master Planning & Design. A critical stage to the development process is master planning, concept development and design. Whether it is a large entertainment-anchored mixed-use development or a single attraction, feasibility is a fundamental step in helping to shape and hone the programme. A key output of the feasibility analysis is a forecast of attendance, not just by year, but by month, day and time of day. An estimate of throughput at this granular level will not only provide intrinsic guidance to capacity requirements at attractions, but also the need for retail space, food & beverage
covers, and parking spaces. Optimising any attractions or entertainment real estate development to the market demand should always be the goal of stakeholders; creating something too big can negatively impact the experience but also crucially lead to unnecessary overinvestment. Developing a space too small will impact the visitor experience especially during busy periods and will also lead to pent up demand during the busy period and ultimately lost potential visits.
• Delivery & Operational Business Plan. Once construction is underway feasibility can seem somewhat divorced from the process. However, during the construction phase a detailed operational business plan will need to be developed. With clarity on the detailed design, the operational business plan can reflect the nuances within the development programme that a feasibility cannot; but the plan should still reflect the wider parameters of the feasibility. Levels of overall demand but also demand and capacity requirements during different periods should really be reflected in the plans, especially when considering staffing schedules, for example.
It won’ t be a surprise to the reader that LDP, the market leader in attractions feasibility, believes feasibility is a critical step in the development of any attraction or leisure real estate development, not just for the financial viability step but also providing essential information and guidance for the entire development process. What is less obvious is that the feasibility team should remain on hand to iterate, discuss and steer through later project stages. Many of our clients keep us in the conversation in later stages and we know their businesses greatly benefit from this. Good, bankable feasibility should leave its trace, linked back to the market, through every developmental stage and onto the successful opening.
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