Agenda item

This item contains exempt information and may need to be considered in exempt (private) session.

The Managing Director of Rubicon Leisure provided a presentation on Rubicon’s priorities and recent progress to Members. Key points discussed during the presentation included the five priorities and five themes for 2025/26 which were:

Priorities of: Grow our income and be financially sustainable; Invest in our staff, provide support, tools and opportunity to learn and develop; Inspire more people to improve health and well-being; Improve the quality of our offer, experiences and services; Provide opportunities for our communities.

Themes: Our Finances. Our People, Our Customers, Our Communities, Our Development.

During the presentation these priorities and themes were discussed in further detail. After the presentation, Members discussed the following aspects:

• Members were very encouraged by the progress and improvements to the business and wished to thank all the staff involved who had assisted Rubicon Leisure becoming a commercial success.
• Utilisation of financial support from the Council was discussed. It was noted that there were plans for Rubicon to invest in further commercial aspects, however, the key priority remained to ensure sustainability for the future. Whilst Rubicon continued to identify profitable areas, ensuring financial stability in essential functions such as repairs and maintenance was a priority.
• Members noted that some areas of Rubicon’s operations had achieved considerable success recently such as ice cream sales during the summer period and the popularity of outdoor swimming at Arrow Valley Lake.
• Clarity on the Net Promotor Score (NPS) was requested, and it was explained to the Committee that this was a key customer satisfaction metrics system which was updated daily and was an effective way to assess future sustainability of the business.
• Progress in Rubicon’s delivery of leisure services was discussed and Members queried the gym memberships rate.  In response Members noted that income from gym memberships was good and that Rubicon’s gym membership was competitively priced. Rubicon was looking to invest in its Health and Wellbeing activities in response to identified growing public interest.
• The Rubicon’s health and wellbeing offer was discussed with reference to queries as to how many customers visited from priority health neighbourhood areas within the Borough. In response Members were advised that around eight percent of the population of those neighbourhoods used the Rubicon’s health and wellbeing services on offer, including community activities. In terms of affordability, it was explained that Rubicon’s food and beverage offer was also competitively priced, as compared to popular chain outlets.
• Data for the use of services outside of the Borough was requested. It was explained that data for the Palace Theatre demonstrated that there were significant sales from customers visiting from outside of the Borough. It was noted that Arrow Valley Lake had been shortlisted as Best Visitor Attraction with recent visitor numbers having tripled in size.
• Areas in which to improve the Rubicon’s business were also discussed by the Committee. Key areas included food waste and electrical compliance, environmental policies, HR and Marketing. Incorporating climate change strategies into future plans was also discussed to align with the Council’s objectives.
• The use of local farm produce for food and beverage was also discussed. In response it was felt that the company did offer a good range and balance when comparing to the other businesses within the Borough. However, plans corporately to have a wider range of impact for food and beverage would be reviewed in due course.
• Local employment was also discussed with Members being reassured that a good number of staff employed by Rubicon Leisure as well as volunteers resided in the Redditch area.

RESOLVED that

the Rubicon Leisure Priorities and Progress Presentation be noted.

(During consideration of this item, Members discussed matters that necessitated the disclosure of exempt information. It was therefore agreed to move to exclude the press and public prior to any debate on the grounds that information would be revealed that included information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)).