LCC Expands with Rainbow Rocket and Big Rock Deals
Lakeland Climbing Centres (LCC) has strengthened its position as one of the UK’s largest indoor climbing operators with the acquisition of Rainbow Rocket in Cambridge, and a full merger with Big Rock in Milton Keynes. These moves bring LCC’s portfolio to 15 gyms nationwide, including a staff headcount of over 250, reinforcing the current trend of consolidation in Europe’s climbing industry.
For LCC founder and owner Jeremy Wilson, the expansion into Cambridge is as much a personal milestone as it is a strategic decision. His own climbing journey began in the city’s university mountaineering club in 1983, when indoor training meant scaling rudimentary concrete walls at Kelsey Kerridge Sports Centre before piling into a minibus for weekend trips to the Peak District or North Wales. His first foray into the industry came in 1995 when he co-founded LCC’s original wall in Kendal with fellow Cambridge alumna Kate Phillips.
His return to Cambridge has been years in the making. Rainbow Rocket, a dedicated bouldering centre founded by Jeremy Leong in 2018, had long been on LCC’s radar. When Leong secured a new site for expansion in late 2024, a partnership became the natural next step. Under the agreement, LCC has provided the capital for the new 17,000-square-foot facility, while Rainbow Rocket contributes its established brand and community. The new site will be fitted out with 750 sqm of bouldering walls; including a Tension Board 2, Home Kilter Board and digital woody. A training space, cafe and retail area, combined with large socialising areas will provide a modern centre with regional appeal. Leong, meanwhile, will step away from the business in April to pursue new ventures and spend more time with his family.
We asked Wilson whether recent expansions by rival gym chains, including The Climbing Hangar and Climbing District, had influenced LCC’s own moves. He acknowledged that the Rainbow Rocket deal had been expedited in response, ensuring LCC maintained a foothold in the region amid increasing competition. However, the Big Rock merger had an additional catalyst. With upcoming changes to Capital Gains Tax, Big Rock CEO Karen Mehrtens saw an opportunity to transition her ownership under more favorable conditions. “This was really about timing,” Wilson explained. “Karen was already looking to step back, and the coming changes made the decision clearer.”
Wilson has been a junior partner in Big Rock since 2018, alongside Mehrtens and co-owner Mike Axon. Under the merger, Mehrtens and Axon will take stakes in LCC, and Mehrtens will join the company’s board. The gyms themselves will continue operating as before, but with the added benefit of LCC’s back-office support. LCC South Managing Director, Tom Hull, will now be spreading his time amongst London, Milton Keynes and Cambridge to support the leadership teams. Beccy Caine, VauxWall Centre Manager, has stepped up to the role of Deputy MD in order to assist Hull in his significantly expanded remit.
With LCC growing in scale, the question of vertical integration—where a gym chain also owns or controls elements of its supply chain—becomes increasingly relevant. Wilson, who is also a shareholder in Kong Climbing Walls, a UK-based wall builder and hold manufacturer, is well-placed to comment. He acknowledges that integration could bring efficiencies to a large chain but warns that it may come at the expense of diversity in design, and limitations in hold choice for routesetters. “The underlying challenge is production capacity,” he said. “There just isn't the ramp up in production necessary to meet the growing demand, which slows down routesetting aspirations and gym development.”
The acquisitions come at a time of rapid transformation in the UK climbing industry. “The industry is seeing a lot of change right now, with private equity coming into the market to stimulate consolidation, fund new walls, and create national champions,” Wilson says. “Many walls are undergoing generational succession, and some are struggling to keep up with the considerable investment required to keep facilities shiny, new, and aligned with modern expectations.”
Against this backdrop, LCC’s approach is clear: steady expansion underpinned by what Wilson calls a “tripartite ethos” of happy customers, happy staff, and robust economics. By balancing investment with long-term sustainability, LCC aims to weather industry cycles while keeping its gyms at the forefront of Britain’s booming indoor climbing scene.
