MONMOUTHSHIRE County Council has purchased the freehold of the Newport Leisure Park on the city's Spytty Road, for £21 million.

The 141,000-square foot property – adjacent to Newport Retail Park and the Tesco Extra supermarket – includes a 13-screen Cineworld cinema, xercise4less gym, Home Bargains superstore, Energi Adventure park, and a range of restaurants such as McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Harvester.

Paul Matthews, CEO of Monmouthshire County Council, said: “ We are pleased to have secured a well-let, long income asset that will provide an excellent annual return for the Council and help us to sustain our wider service delivery portfolio in the years ahead.

"Newport Leisure Park serves a large catchment area in South Wales and taps into the long-term demand for experiential consumer spend and leisure activities.

"It is the latest addition to our commercial investment portfolio following our recent acquisition of CastleGate Business and Science Park”

Alder King acted for Monmouthshire, and KLM and Cooke Arkwright acted for Otium – which had owned the site since 2015 – on the transaction.

The Newport Leisure Park site is fully-let and includes 705 free car spaces and links through to the Newport Retail Park and the Tesco Extra on the eastern side of the city.

The council described the site as a "prime location in South Wales", citing numerous housing developments in the area and the proximity to the potential route of the planned M4 relief road.

Ashley Blake, CEO of Otium Real Estate, said: “We have invested heavily into Newport Leisure Park since acquiring it in 2015.

"Five new tenants have joined the offer, the park has been refurbished and existing tenants have enhanced their fit-outs.

"We are delighted Monmouthshire County Council has had the foresight to acquire this asset and that the South Wales area will continue to benefit from this long-term, secure investment following our work to regenerate the park.

"We have enjoyed the experience of working with Monmouthshire County Council and wish them well for the future.”