Can Brighton's i360 turn a corner?

The new owner of Brighton's i360 has described taking over the seafront attraction as one of the "biggest" risks of her life.

Sarah Willingham, founder and chief executive of Nightcap Ltd, bought the tower for £150,000 after it unexpectedly closed in December 2024.

The attraction reopened exactly one year ago, with Brighton and Hove City Council having written off £51 million in debt to secure the sale.

But how did we get here?

The BBC takes a look at the history of the i360.

The i360's former chief executive, Eleanor Harris, said the tower would transform Brighton's tourism prospects when it was opened in 2016.

"We are putting Brighton on the map and promoting the city around the globe," she added.

However, it divided local opinion.

Valerie Paynter, of the saveHove campaign, said at the time the i360 was "like something springing horribly out of the earth in a horror movie".

Others called estimates of how many people would use it "ambitious".

In 2014, the council had agreed to lend £36.2m to Brighton i360 Ltd to fund the tower, which gives visitors views of the Sussex coast and South Downs.

The local authority was set to receive 1% of ticket sales and more than £1m per year in interest on the loan plus business rates.

However, the attraction struggled to make money and pay back its debts.

By 2024, council leader Bella Sankey warned funding for early years education and cost of living support in the city had suffered due to missed debt repayments by the i360.

That same year it filed for administration.

Business plans for the i360 in Brighton "suffered from optimism bias" from the start, according to a review of lessons learned.

A recent report, meanwhile, found visitor numbers had been determined with statistics from "iconic global landmarks" like the Eiffel Tower.

Actual visitor numbers for i360's opening year were about a third of those forecasted, it found.

The report added that bar and merchandise sales were also overestimated.

But the report by The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy said projected contributions to the local economy and job creation "were largely realised".

Current deputy leader, Labour's Jacob Taylor, said the report would "ensure a mistake of this scale is not repeated".

Green Party councillor Ollie Sykes, whose party led the council when the loan for the i360's construction was agreed, has called the report "factually inaccurate".

Sarah Willingham, the attraction's new owner, told BBC Radio Sussex it had had a "great summer".

She said her company had invested £1.5million into the tower, improving the terrace in front of the West Pier and the Drift Bar and Kitchen.

But Willingham said it is not yet clear whether visitor numbers had risen.

"I can't verify whether it's up or down, because I don't know how reliable the previous numbers were," she said.

Willingham, a Brighton resident, said she had put her "own personal reputation on the line" when the company signed a 115‑year lease on the venue.

She added she had always lived in the city "anonymously and very happily" but felt she was "putting [her] head above the parapet" by taking it over.

From a business perspective, the former Dragons' Den judge said she believed a strong operator could make the attraction work.

"Everybody has been so supportive," Willingham added.

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