Brighton’s iconic Palace Pier has been placed on the market after nearly a decade under the ownership of entrepreneur Luke Johnson, highlighting growing challenges in Britain’s leisure and hospitality industry.
The Grade II*-listed pier, which opened in 1899 and stretches 525 metres into the English Channel, is being sold by Brighton Pier Group, with Knight Frank appointed to manage the sale. The attraction features 19 fairground rides, two arcades with more than 300 machines, and space for private events. Millions of visitors flock to the pier each year, making it one of the UK’s most recognisable seaside landmarks and a bellwether for domestic tourism.
Anne Ackord, chief executive of Brighton Pier Group, described the pier as “a profitable, standalone business with significant potential,” while acknowledging the “extremely challenging trading environment” for leisure assets.
Accounts for 2024 show revenues fell to £14.9 million from £15.6 million the previous year, with like-for-like sales declining by 4%. The company attributed the drop to a second consecutive summer of poor weather and weaker tourist demand. While a rise in admission charges from £1 to £2 in March 2025 helped offset some of the decline, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation dropped sharply to £300,000, compared with £1.7 million in 2023.
The pier had already faced a 3% fall in like-for-like sales in 2023, as train strikes, a hotel fire near the entrance, and adverse weather disrupted trading. Brighton Pier Group acquired the asset in 2016 for £18 million, and its most recent accounts showed impairments reducing the net book value of the pier to £13.7 million from £17.3 million a year earlier.
The sale reflects broader pressures on the UK visitor economy, including rising employment costs, increases in the national living wage and national insurance contributions, and reductions in business rates relief. Ackord said the sale was intended to return capital to shareholders and provide a new owner with the opportunity to shape the pier’s future.
Luke Johnson, chairman of Brighton Pier Group and former owner of PizzaExpress and Patisserie Valerie, holds more than a quarter of the company. The group also runs bars and mini-golf venues.
John Rushby, head of specialist leisure at Knight Frank, described the pier as “a rare opportunity” for investors seeking a heritage leisure asset with strong brand recognition, despite near-term economic headwinds.
As one of the UK’s most visited seaside destinations, Brighton Palace Pier remains a symbol of Britain’s coastal tourism and a test of the resilience of the country’s leisure sector during a period of rising costs and subdued consumer spending.
