Northern Ireland set to welcome first JD Gyms venue

Hardware and home improvement giant Screwfix will also be opening a new store in the Crumlin Road retail park in north Belfast.

JD Gyms, the fitness arm of popular high-street retailer JD Sports plc, will open its first venue in Northern Ireland on Tuesday after a £2.05m investment across a 23,000 sq ft footprint.

The 24-hour gym will offer customers top-end facilities, including studios for classes, a dedicated free weights area and a sauna.

On Wednesday Screwfix, the UK and Ireland’s largest supplier of trade tools and hardware, will also open a venue at the site, serving commercial and domestic customers.

The retail park is currently 90% occupied, with only one 8,530 sq ft unit currently vacant on the retail parade.

Tenants at the retail park owned by Hillview Centre Belfast include German supermarket Lidl, discount retailer Home Bargains, Starbucks and Habitat for Humanity.

Matthew McNutt, asset manager at Hillview Centre Belfast said: “I am pleased to welcome JD Gyms and Screwfix to Hillview Retail Park, bolstering the strong occupier line-up and further establishing Hillview as a prominent retail, leisure and food & beverage destination.

"It is significant that JD Gyms have chosen Hillview as their first location on this island and their substantial investment, together with the opening of Screwfix, endorses the scheme as a much sought-after location on the northern periphery of the city centre.

“We remain focused on continued investment at Hillview as we strive to achieve our regeneration objectives, create new jobs for local residents and deliver a strategic commercial hub that caters for all sides of the community.”

Matt Sykes, head of operations at JD Gyms said: “Hillview Retail Park is the perfect location for our first gym in Northern Ireland.

"With Hillview located just one mile from the city centre, within easy access of the primary motorway network and an area of c. 60,000 people, it felt like the perfect fit. It’s been fantastic to see the gym take shape over the last couple of months and we are confident there’s nothing like it in the area.”

More than £10m have been invested in the transformation of the Crumlin Road retail park over the last five years.

Until 2001, Hillview was owned by Killultagh Estates, a property company owned by developer Frank Boyd.

The park was taken over by Nama, the Republic's bad bank, and sold to Cerberus. After the vulture fund put it on the market for £2.25m, Killultagh snapped it up again.