Construction begins on a 26,500 sq ft Hollywood Bowl at The Centre, Livingston, creating 40 jobs. The venue adds 22 bowling lanes, arcade, and diner, opening this autumn.
Construction is underway on a 26,500 sq. ft Hollywood Bowl venue at The Centre, Livingston, one of Scotland's largest shopping centres. The multi-million-pound site is scheduled to open this autumn and will create 40 local jobs.
The venue will feature 22 lanes of ten-pin bowling, an arcade with Namco games, pool tables, and a bar and diner. The opening coincides with the centre's 50th anniversary.
LCP UK (part of M Core) acquired the centre over two years ago. Its plan was to turn it into a 'shop, eat and play' destination. The property spans one million sq. ft with over 150 stores and restaurants, including M&S, Flannels, H&M, Nando's, and the country's largest JD Sports. It welcomes more than 15.8 million visitors a year.
Recent global brands to open at the centre include Starbucks, Wingstop, MINISO, Søstrene Grene, Flying Tiger, and ArrowHeadz, which opened its first Scotland store here.
Stephen Burns, CEO of Hollywood Bowl Group, said: 'We are pleased to announce that work has begun at our new multi-entertainment centre at the popular retail destination, The Centre, Livingston. This marks another important step in our strategic growth as we continue to expand across the UK.' He added that the company is 'delighted to be opening another site in Scotland, creating new local jobs while bringing high-quality, affordable entertainment to the community.'
Simon Eatough, director at LCP UK and asset manager for The Centre, said starting construction is 'an incredibly proud moment.' He called the venue a 'major evolution' for the property. 'The countdown is officially on, and we look forward to welcoming visitors to experience this game-changing entertainment centre this autumn.'
The deal was completed by Robin Kennedy, Associate Legal Director (UK) at LCP UK.
UK shopping centres have been adding leisure anchors to increase dwell time. The Metrocentre in Gateshead operates a Hollywood Bowl and a Cineworld. Bluewater in Kent has a multi-screen cinema, a golf range, and a ski slope alongside its shops. A visitor who comes for bowling may also eat, browse, and spend across several hours instead of a typical 45-minute retail errand.
Industry data show that leisure lets often generate higher footfall per square foot than mid-market fashion. They also pull from a wider catchment area. A bowling alley or cinema can draw from 30 to 45 minutes' drive time, compared with about 15 minutes for a supermarket or clothing store. The wider catchment expands the addressable market for the food court and other retailers on the same trip.
A 2024 report from the British Council of Shopping Centres noted that destinations with at least one leisure anchor saw average dwell times 40% longer than those without. The Centre, Livingston already had a food offering and a strong anchor retail roster. Adding leisure fills the gap between browsing and leaving.
This investment carries risk. Leisure fit-outs are capital-intensive. A 26,500 sq. ft venue at current construction costs likely runs into the low double-digit millions. Hollywood Bowl Group is a publicly listed company (ticker: BOWL on the London Stock Exchange) with a market cap around £350 million, making the tenant covenant manageable. Still, the tenant mix in any new leisure wing needs to hold up if foot traffic volumes disappoint.
LCP UK's other UK properties include the Marlowes in Hemel Hempstead and the Potteries Shopping Centre in Hanley. Both have undergone or are undergoing similar repositioning. The M Core group, headquartered in Prague, manages over €5 billion in commercial property assets across Europe.
For The Centre, Livingston, the 50th anniversary provides a branding hook. The autumn opening aligns with Halloween half-term and the run-up to Christmas, historically the peak period for indoor leisure bookings. The centre competes with nearby alternatives. Livingston has a Cineworld on the Almondvale retail park, a 20-minute walk away. The new Hollywood Bowl will draw a slightly different demographic: families and groups rather than the cinema's primary date-night audience.
The centre's 15.8 million annual visitors are already high by UK regional standards. Lakeside in Thurrock sees about 14 million. The Trafford Centre in Manchester reports roughly 30 million. Livingston's catchment extends across West Lothian and into the eastern edges of Glasgow's commuter belt, a population of about 300,000 within 30 minutes' drive. The leisure addition gives those households a reason to stay longer and come back more often.
Whether that converts into higher retail sales for in-centre tenants depends on cross-marketing. A family who books a bowling lane on a Saturday afternoon might grab lunch at Nando's and wander into H&M on the way out. Getting that trip into lower-value stores is where the revenue uplift lives.
Hollywood Bowl Group now operates 68 UK venues. Livingston will be its 69th.
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