Donington Ventures Leisure : Racing ahead
Published : October 2008
Donington Ventures Leisure has won the hosting of the British Grand Prix from 2010. Becky Done talked to CEO Simon Gillett about the five-year investment programme that heralds the return of Formula One to Donington Park.
Like the rest of his 30-strong team at Donington Park Circuit, CEO Simon Gillett is a busy man. And little wonder – aside from securing a 10-year deal with Formula One Management to take over the hosting of the British Grand Prix from Silverstone starting in 2010, the company holds a vast array of other events at the track, ranging from championships such as British Touring Cars, British Superbikes and the British Moto Grand Prix, to off-road motorcycle events such as the Motocross of Nations. “We own every world championship in the two-wheel world,” said Gillett, “and we’re very proud of that.” In addition, Donington is host of the annual Download festival – which sees 50,000 rock fans descend on its grounds each June – and Europe’s largest Sunday market. In addition, it offers a packed programme from its conference and exhibition centre – everything from steam and antique fairs to auctions and corporate driving days involving 4x4s, skid cars and high-speed driving. Customers are even able to drive their own cars and bikes round the circuit on designated track days. In this arena, if you can name it, Donington probably does it.
The circuit itself is located on the border of Leicestershire and Derbyshire in the heart of the Midlands, close to the village of Castle Donington. The company behind the venue is Donington Ventures Leisure, which was formed in February 2007 by Gillett and his partner Lee Gill after almost five years of negotiating to acquire Donington circuit. “It was a long, hard deal and very tough,” said Gillett, “but we finally got it.” It seems it was well worth the wait. Just over a year later, the company boasts an annual turnover of £15 million, and with Formula One set to grace its tracks once again, the company’s firm commitment to invest £100 million over five years already appears to be paying off.
The acquisition of Donington came with a much needed re-brand. With diversification in mind, the new corporate identity was designed to appeal to a wider market. “We’ve moved away from traditional red, white and blue with chequered flags, which is the standard thing to do with any motorsport brand,” explained Gillett. “We’ve now gone for a very corporate look to show that we’re not just a motorsport venue – we’re an entertainment venue which has multiple facets.” The re-brand also signified a fresh start and a look to the future for Donington. “We bought, in essence, three ownerships of land here,” explained Gillett, “so there were three distinct brands, as well as two or three brands that had been left over historically from the circuit as well! So the idea was to clear up all the old brands, and become one professional face.”
With its new identity firmly in place, diversifying Donington’s offerings was next on Gillett’s agenda. “We bought Donington with the aim of developing the facilities,” he explained. A key part of this development was to broaden the circuit’s appeal for families, to ensure the maximum number of visitors at each event. “That was one of the major reasons for our wanting to acquire the circuit,” said Gillett. “But if we want to attract more families, we have to include all those facilities that families require. So we’ve boosted entertainment between races. Where there used to be a ‘dead’ track in between races, we now have things such as freestyle motocross, a fair and funfair or a spitfire fly-past. We try to entertain.”
To broaden Donington’s customer base still further, Gillett is especially keen to attract footfall from other clients, with the aim of boosting the quieter winter times commonly experienced by outdoor events venues. “It’s quite a spiky business,” he explained. “In November, December and January we’ve traditionally been pretty quiet, apart from some small corporate activity happening in the exhibition centre. So our working culture around those times tends to be pretty relaxed. But in the summer months, if I ask people how they feel, the answer would probably be ‘tired and emotional’!”
Gillett’s aim is now to capitalise on those quieter periods and one way in which he plans to do so is by extending the circuit’s existing range of corporate offerings. “The two major opportunities are the Monday to Thursday business, and the September until May business,” he explained. “So we’ve created an area called ‘the launch pad’, which is around 30 acres of tarmac and a purpose-built, air conditioned building, complete with full AV facilities. It’s ideal for all-year round car launches. And we’re working hard on the exhibition centre; I want to drive more events through there because they work throughout the winter as well.” Car launches have indeed proved successful, with top-end manufacturers such as Porsche and Mercedes selecting Donington as the venue from which to unveil their latest luxury offerings. With visitor numbers rising – currently they stand at just over half a million every year – and an increasing number of families choosing to spend time at the circuit, health and safety is of paramount importance at all times, and Gillett is proud of the company’s near-impeccable safety record. Careful risk assessments take place before any activities are signed off, and there is a permanent full-time health and safety officer in place to ensure optimum safety for all visitors and staff.
Donington has been careful to underpin its event and site developments with a robust and efficient operating structure. A background in technology enabled Gillett to examine the business and identify key areas for improvement using a considered approach from the outset. “The worst thing you can do when acquiring a new business is to bring in a whole new load of systems and methods of working before you understand what the business is,” he explained. “We spent last year understanding the business – and then we could identify areas for improvement on the booking, allocation and communication systems.” The site is now on a wireless LAN, with staff working from Blackberry-style devices, enabling task management to be delivered wirelessly. But Gillett is keen to ensure that capability remains very much in the hands of his staff: “We are starting to adopt some new technologies, but the business runs very well and the staff are very good. They don’t need an awful lot of help to do what they need to do.”
Another major consideration for Gillett has been the environment. The nature of the business, of course, imposes great limits on how far Donington can reduce its carbon footprint; but Gillett is determined to ensure that the issue will feature as a key and sustained area of research for the future. “It’s certainly something that we’re looking at going forward,” he confirmed. “Currently this business is what it is – it’s an open race track, and the cars that turn up are dictated to us by the race series, so we have no impact on them. We are a business that burns hydrocarbon for fun which, as a policy, is not very forward-looking. But such is motor racing. So we’re looking at how we can develop ethically and ensure sustainable development with sustainable buildings. We’re also focusing on how we consume energy as a company, which will include a thorough review of our buildings.”
With such firm foundations in place, Donington can now look to the future – keeping a particular eye on 2010. The first ever British Grand Prix was staged at the circuit back in the 30s, and now, 17 years after Formula One’s last appearance at Donington, it is set to return. Gillett intends to ensure that its homecoming is celebrated with appropriately first class facilities. Work on a new pit complex is expected to commence at the end of the 2008 racing season, in addition to lengthening of the existing track – lbeit while maintaining its character. Other development plans are also in place to realise the potential of the 750-acre site, with the aim of enabling customers to enjoy enhanced and extended visits to Donington. “We’ve got a very large estate,” explained Gillett, “so the intention now is to develop. We’ll be introducing hotels, better facilities, grandstands and improved retailing opportunities.” It is hoped that the investment will also benefit the local area by boosting regional development; local and national authorities have been working closely with the company to ensure that planning requirements for 2010 are tackled well ahead of time, and to fully enable development of the world class facilities required to host a Formula One event. A projected £16 million of business is expected to be brought into the local area over the race weekend alone, with an estimated 150,000 fans predicted to attend.
When Gillett and Gill set out to acquire Donington circuit, their ambitions were high – an approach which has clearly paid dividends, and which will undoubtedly prove crucial in years to come. “We aspire to be one of the world’s premier motor racing circuits,” confirmed Gillett. “It’s very exciting; a real watch-this-space situation.” And after such rapid and remarkable success, all eyes will doubtless be on Donington. END