Risque Gloryholes Golf venue to set tongues wagging in Derbyshire

The provocatively named Gloryholes Golf will open its fourth venue at 1-3 Albion Street in Derby, formerly occupied by the Gap clothing store and more recently the home of Logo Womenswear.

The 10,000 sq ft site, split over two floors, brings a unique, adult mini golfing experience to the heart of the city, creating in excess of 20 jobs.

Gloryholes adds a naughty yet pleasurable touch to the high street, with 18 raunchy themed holes of golf spicing up the local leisure offering, and follows the success of the firm’s other venues in Sheffield, Nottingham and Lincoln.

Expect innuendoes galore throughout the venue, headed up by entrepreneurs Drew Hewitt and Dan Brown, and David Hood

Drew said: "We're going to have 18 lucky dip holes, and within those there will be some Derby-themed holes, such as a pub hole called the 'Ram It Inn'."

Explaining what attracted the firm to the site, Drew added: "With Derby only being a stone's throw away from Nottingham and with not much leisure there already, we thought it would be a great city to go to. Plus, there's a big population there, with 30,000+ students. We're hoping to add more leisure options to the first floor."

Gloryholes is the latest company to have taken up retail space in Derby owned by Nottingham developer ALB Group.

ALB hit the headlines at the start of year when it bought seven shops in the city’s Albion Street and East Street, in a bid to make the area “cool” again.It followed a similar venture by the firm in Nottingham’s Bridlesmith Gate.Other companies which have also signed leases on ALB’s Derby properties include specialty coffee shop The Barista Lab, Hatchet Harry’s axe-throwing venue - both of which have also taken up some of ALB’s Nottingham premises - and lifestyle fitness boutique Pace.

ALB has also brought upper floors at 1 Albion Street, which it plans to convert into apartments.

ALB Group’s managing director, Arran Bailey, said: “Gloryholes Golf adds a cheeky touch to Derby city centre, and will really provide a unique feel to a night out in the city. It’ll especially be fun for parties and stag and hen dos.

“We’ve already seen a massive change in the city centre since the other new tenants have been moving in - there’s a new vibe and a more optimistic feel, which is what we set out to create. We can’t wait to see how Gloryholes Golf goes down in Derby.

The move was made possible thanks to property consultants FHP. Oliver Marshall, director at FHP, said: “The lease has completed with Gloryholes Golf and the venue has an opening target of end of February/early March.

“It’s a fantastic letting for a unit of this size and it’s great for Derby to have another leisure opportunity coming into the city centre.”

Gloryholes Derby will be open from 4pm-11pm on Mondays, noon-11pm Tuesday to Thursday, noon-1am Fridays and Saturdays and noon-10pm on Sundays. To find out more about ALB Group’s other work, visit www.albgroup.co.uk.