Questions over Alpamare waterpark, Scarborough, as winding-up petition issued against operating company

British Gas Trading Ltd, a creditor, has issued a winding-up petition against Alpamare UK Ltd, the operating company of the water park on Burniston Road, Scarborough.
British Gas Trading Ltd, a creditor, has issued a winding-up petition against Alpamare UK Ltd, the operating company of the water park on Burniston Road, Scarborough.British Gas Trading Ltd, a creditor, has issued a winding-up petition against Alpamare UK Ltd, the operating company of the water park on Burniston Road, Scarborough.
British Gas Trading Ltd, a creditor, has issued a winding-up petition against Alpamare UK Ltd, the operating company of the water park on Burniston Road, Scarborough.

The petition was printed in the London Gazette last week and will be heard on Wednesday, January 23 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Scarborough Council granted a 35-year lease for the waterpark and adjoining car park to Benchmark Leisure Ltd. The council gave Benchmark a £9 million unsecured loan to facilitate the development of the £14 million waterpark.

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Should Alpamare go into insolvency, Benchmark may be tasked with finding a new operator. Ultimately, the council is able to terminate the lease to Benchmark and take back possession of the waterpark and car park.

Questions were raised by borough councillor Tony Randerson last year about the nature of repayments, following rumours that only £100,000 of the loan had been repaid. He said: "At this rate it will take 85 years to get the money back."

These rumours were quashed, however, by finance portfolio holder Cllr Helen Mallory, who stated that the terms were "very different to those in Cllr Randerson's question".

The decision to grant Benchmark the loan was passed by a single vote at the full council in 2013. The waterpark opened in summer 2016.