Investor pumps £35m into York cinema and retail scheme

Funding has been secured for a new cinema and retail scheme at the Vangarde development in York.Legal & General is to fund Wrenbridge Sport and the City of York Council’s development of the Vangarde leisure scheme at Vangarde Way, Monks Cross, York.Totalling £35m, L&G’s investment, on behalf of its Leisure Fund, will build a new 13-screen IMAX 50,000 sq ft cinema which has been pre-let to Cineworld, as well as various restaurants and retail units.The leisure and retail scheme forms part of the wider regeneration of the Vangarde development which Wrenbridge Sport in a consortium with the City of York Council and Greenwich Leisure Ltd have been working on for the past four years.In addition to L&G’s investment, the wider scheme includes the construction of a new 8,000 seat stadium for York City FC and York Knights RCFC, a leisure complex community hub comprising sports hall, 25m swimming pool, gym, NHS facilities and outdoor artificial pitches, as well as further retail and restaurant units.