Leisure entrepreneur Hemmings dies, 86

UK property tycoon, would-be super casino owner and pier-based FEC entrepreneur, Trevor Hemmings, has died aged 86.

Hemmings was also a leading racehorse owner and a billionaire who loved the entertainment industry. He made most of his fortune from property portfolios in the north of England and his leisure interests.

He was a right-hand man to holiday camp tycoon Sir Fred Pontin and at one time owned the Blackpool Tower and Winter Gardens conference centre plus three piers. He bought the package of Blackpool property from the First Leisure Group.

Hemmings was a leading proponent for a super casino in Blackpool but was thwarted when the proposal was transferred to Manchester and then subsequently dropped altogether.

In 1978 he was involved in selling the Pontins holiday camp business to Coral the bookmaker that was subsequently acquired by brewer Bass. Hemmings led a management buyout of Pontins and then sold it again to another brewer, Scottish and Newcastle.

Helped by that brewery, he developed the Center Parcs holiday village concept in the UK in the late 1980s. He also owned the Littlewoods football pools business and then bought 360 pubs. He bought a majority share in a football club, Preston North End. He had an equestrian centre near Manchester and an estate with racing stud on the Isle of Man.