A long-running mini golf course at Cabot Circus is closing down after 15 years, leaving staff “broken-hearted by the forced closure”. Jungle Rumble, based on the top floor of the Bristol city centre shopping centre, will soon be leaving as its lease comes to an end.
The director of the mini golf course, which has been an attraction at Cabot Circus since its opening days in 2008, said all the staff have lost their jobs and they feel “so sorry” for the customers. He slammed the shopping centre's owners Hammerson as “disgraceful” for the decision not to renew their lease, and claimed they were being "kicked out".
Hammerson said in response that a new mini golf operator will be announced in a matter of weeks. It added that it wants to attract the “best in-class operators” to Bristol.
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Angus Wright, director of Jungle Rumble, told Bristol Live that the brand was made aware of the impending exit six weeks ago. He said that when the lease ends at the end of March, it will be a sad day for everyone.
“Everyone at Jungle Rumble is broken hearted by the forced closure of our business. All the staff are losing their jobs and we leave behind 15 years of happy customers. We are so sorry for all the staff and customers.
“We are at the end of our lease and have been trying to renew our lease for the last three years but are being kicked out by Hammerson. We have been their biggest and most successful tenant for 15 years and they are refusing to renew our lease. We have paid millions in rent and offered a massive new rent to keep our site.
“Jungle Rumble Bristol was the first mini golf course in a UK city centre. We love Bristol and love how popular and successful Jungle Rumble has been.
“There are now mini golf courses all over the UK because of what we started in Bristol. It has been a huge success with millions of customers over the last 15 years.”
Angus also shared details of plans to redevelop the courses, adding: “We wanted to upgrade it to an amazing new standard with a sunken ship theme. We also wanted to add a new business in extra space with Formula One racing simulators.”
He claimed Hammerson said the reason they were unable to secure a new lease was that “another mini golf operator was best in class”. Angus said: “We regard the London based Hammerson decision as disgraceful. We regard their decision as lazy, incompetent and bad business.
“We feel like there should have been more loyalty to us, we’d been there for 15 years. We’d love to find another site in Bristol as we love Bristol, but will have to wait and see.”
It is understood that the announcement of the new mini golf business to move into Cabot Circus will be made within a matter of “weeks”, according to Hammerson.
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Though the new operator has not been named, Discovery Adventure Golf, which is behind Treetop Golf, has already applied for a licence to run a mini golf course with “facilities including a bar and restaurant”. The address has been listed as 74-76A Glass Walk.
It would be the latest addition to the shopping centre, which has recently seen the likes of German Doner Kebab and Lids announced as new resident brands. Santander will also be opening a branch at Cabot Circus.
A Cabot Circus spokesperson said: “The vision of Cabot Circus is to be a leading, multi-purpose destination that thrives in the heart of Bristol city centre. Social, cultural and entertainment uses are a key part of Cabot Circus, and we are just weeks away from announcing a renewed and exciting new leisure concept to complement our rich and diverse retail and restaurant offer.
“Our strategy is to attract best-in-class occupiers who can maximise the value of our spaces, drive footfall and engage new and existing audiences. We look forward to providing more updates soon.”
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