Business owner excited to choose Southport as site for third venture with ambition to play a role in Lord Street's ongoing regeneration

By Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport

The owner of a new business opening in Southport town centre says he wants to make a positive difference to Lord Street and play a part in its regeneration.

Mike Smith, the Director of LOL Bingo, is investing £350,000 into converting the former Lavish Home units on the corner of Lord Street and Scarisbrick Avenue.

He has already recruited the first of his new team of eight and has spoken with neighbouring businesses about working closely together.

Work is taking place on site with the ambition of opening this summer, all being well.

This will be the third LOL Bingo in the UK, adding to other sites already operational in Manchester and Newcastle. The firm has big ambitions to keep growing and to open more lounges in the coming years.

Mike Smith said: “The company was incorporated back in 2021 with the first LOL Bingo opening in Harpurhey, Manchester. Our second lounge followed last June in the Wallsend area of Newcastle.

“I have some vivid memories of Southport growing up and I’m proud and excited to open our third venture here.

“I really love the Southport area, it has so much going for the place and there are few areas such as the iconic Lord Street – the heritage is just incredible.

“There are lots of positive changes happening in the town centre soon, with big investment in the Northern and Market Quarters and the new Marine Lake Events Centre.

“We want LOL Bingo to play our part in Lord Street’s regeneration.

“We are investing a significant level of capital into this local venture, which shows how committed we are to creating something special in this area.

“Our aim is to be open this summer, subject to planning and licensing.

“We are working very closely with the planning and conservation teams at Sefton Council to get everything just right and ensure we create a positive addition to Lord Street.

“The building’s landlord, Mike McComb, has started off the refurb by renovated both the frontage and the veranda; we are going to continue this momentum with further classical improvements with hand-painted signs, classic features and gold leaf additions to return the frontage right back to its very best days.

“We’re also investing in some new seating and traditional planters.

“Inside the property we’ll be transforming the look, learning from our previous projects and really expanding the reasons for spending time with us.

“Our bingo section hosts up to 24 people at any one time, using the very latest in interactive tech, our customers will be able to chat to our callers who broadcast from our Hull based studios. When you play our Bingo, you have the choice to also join our LOL Bingo ‘chatroom’ allow you to speak directly with the team as if they were there in the lounge.

“It’s good to be able to bring bingo back to Southport after first the Gala then Mecca brands vacated the town, the latter as a result of the pandemic.

“It’s brilliant to see the old Garrick theatre building now being brought back into use as the UK’s first spa theatre hotel – I’m sure Mrs Smith will be a regular visitor!

“But big old bingo halls are sadly closing across the UK. Buildings like that are expensive to heat, to light, and to staff; they also still dictate times of play to their customers – when to arrive, how long to stay and when to leave – this no longer fits with the demands of the modern busy consumer, we should be available when they want us!

“With LOL Bingo, we will be open from 10am until midnight, 7 days a week so the customer can decide when to play either our bingo, our slots, the interactive darts or our american pool – we are here.

“We are a small company, we really care about our customers and we’ll react appropriately to give the very best offers.

“What we also offer is ‘community’. I expect our team to get to know and care about the customers who visit. They won’t be treated as a number. The team will be recruited with this in the forefront of my mind.

In this interview, we met Mike in the nearby Hideaway cafe on Scarisbrick Avenue.

Mike said: “Hideaway is a superb local cafe. I love it here. There are lots of great independent cafes and coffee shops in Southport.

“I have been speaking with the owner about how we can support and work with each other.

“On our other side, I have also been speaking with Carl, the owner of the Auld Dubliner pub, which has such a beautiful outdoor area.

“We want to work together to make sure this is the most attractive looking spot on Lord Street! I want to make it competitive is there another block of shops on Lord St that will look better?

“The better that Lord Street looks, the more people will be attracted, and the more that additional footfall will encourage other businesses to open here – particularly small independent ones.

“I came to Southport for a day out last week with my wife, Hayley. Had a stroll, bought her a new chain from Rebecca’s Jewellers; and then went for a fantastic lunch at Chloe’s Piano Bar at The Grand.

We all need to shop, eat and spend leisure time at a more local level, that way everyone wins.

“As an individual, I’m keen to get involved in local community initiatives and events in this lovely town and keen to make LOL Bingo’s presence felt positively.

I’m coming to the town with the view, what can we do for Southport, rather than what Southport can do for us.