Palace Pier for sale

The Palace Pier is for sale less than two months after the owner highlighted the adverse effects of another year of poor summer weather, fewer visitors and rising costs including national insurance.

Brighton Pier Group Ltd has instructed property firm Knight Frank to handle the sale of the Victorian grade II* listed pier which remains one of Britain’s most popular tourist attractions.

No asking price has been published – with Knight Frank saying “price on application” – but the pier last sold for £18 million 10 years ago, in April 2016.

Its ultimate owner, Luke Johnson, of private equity firm Risk Capital Partners, has since spent millions of pounds on maintaining and refurbishing the pier.

But a year ago, the Brighton Pier Group wrote down the value of the pier itself by £3.65 million, from more than £17.3 million to £13.7 million.

The company also said today (Friday 2 January) that it had sold another part of its business, Lightwater Valley Attractions. The Lightwater Valley Adventure Park, in North Yorkshire, was once home to the world’s longest rollercoaster.

The business also has another division – a golf business consisting of eight mini-golf sites.

Brighton Pier Group chief executive Anne Ackord said: “The proposed sale of the pier forms part of our strategy to divest our leisure assets and return capital to shareholders.

“Brighton Palace Pier is a profitable standalone business, with significant potential to build on its already strong popularity.

“This is more than just the sale of an asset: it is an opportunity to become part of the next chapter in a remarkable story and shape the future of this national treasure.

“We expect interest from buyers both within the UK and internationally and have therefore appointed Knight Frank to lead the sale and leverage their global network.”

The Brighton Pier Group said: “Brighton Palace Pier, one of the UK’s four most visited tourist attractions, welcoming 3.9 million visitors in 2025, is being offered for sale.

“The group has appointed Knight Frank to seek a buyer for the grade II* listed pier, a heritage landmark of both national and international significance.

“Extending approximately 1,722ft into the English Channel, Brighton Palace Pier is one of the most instantly recognisable structures in the UK.

“Originally opened in 1899, the pier is located in the vibrant coastal city of Brighton and Hove, which is consistently ranked among the country’s top three city destinations.

“The pier offers a diverse range of income-generating attractions, including two arcades, 19 funfair rides, a restaurant, two bars, kiosks, event space and a children’s soft play facility.

“Benefiting from multiple revenue streams across leisure, entertainment, retail and hospitality, the pier provides strong year-round trading opportunities.

“In addition to attracting tourists and the local community, the pier is regularly hired for private and corporate events.

“It can accommodate parties of up to 2,000 people and has served as the backdrop for numerous films and television productions, including Brighton Rock, Cassandra’s Dream and, more recently, Stormzy’s Big Man.”

Knight Frank’s head of specialist leisure John Rushby said: “Brighton and Hove continues to grow in popularity as one of the UK’s leading destinations.

“Positioned at the heart of the city, Brighton Palace Pier stands out as one of the country’s most significant heritage landmarks, offering a rare opportunity for a new owner to build on its strong foundations and further enhance its position as a premier leisure and hospitality destination.

“We are proud to be advising the Brighton Pier Group on this landmark sale.”

In November, the Brighton Pier Group published its annual report and accounts for the financial year to Monday 29 December 2024.

The report said that the company’s pier division generated £14.9 million in revenues, down 4 per cent from £15.6 million the year before.

The new entry fee for “non-local residents” – which started in the summer of 2024 – generated £663,000 and was said to have helped to make up for lost revenue from declining footfall.

The main money-makers were the rides and other attractions, which brought in £8.1 million, and food and drink sales, which accounted for almost £6 million.

The report said that profit measured as EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) was £300,000, down from £1.7 million the year before.

The pier made an operating loss of almost £300,000, compared with a profit of £1.4 million in 2023, and a loss before tax of £4.3 million, compared with a pre-tax profit of £1.4 million in 2023.

The loss came about mainly as a result of £4.3 million “impairment” charge for property, plant and equipment, as the company budgeted for sums that it may have to spend on these in the coming year.

The outlook remained challenging. The report said: “Current group like-for-like sales through to the end of September 2025 were down £2.3 million or 10 per cent below the equivalent period in 2024.

“The pier has seen a further contraction in overall visitor numbers across the key trading periods.

“An increase in the admissions charge from £1 to £2, which became effective from March 2025, was able to partly offset the decline in footfall. Total sales of £12.2 million were £800,000 lower than 2024.”

The report said that 2024 had been “another difficult trading period for the group, with a second consecutive year of poor weather during the peak summer trading period”.

It said: “This adversely impacted the trading performance of the pier which was compounded by a general decline in tourism to Brighton.

“The introduction of a £1 admissions charge to non-residents partially alleviated the lost sales from the resulting lower footfall.

“The continued cost of living pressures and resulting cutback in consumer discretionary spending is affecting the whole of the hospitality and leisure industry and negatively impacted footfall across the group.

“The pressures on the group’s cost base have continued in 2025, with significant increases in the national living wage, national insurance and a reduction in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.”

As well as the coronavirus pandemic, the group had previously highlighted the costs of a long-running series of strikes by rail workers and the fire at the Royal Albion Hotel, just opposite the pier.

Key figures working at the pier have criticised the final phase of Brighton and Hove City Council’s Valley Gardens project.

The council is preparing to replace the Aquarium roundabout outside the pier with a T-junction with traffic lights and has already made Madeira Drive one-way.