Developing the next generation of surf-anchored destinations
Global Wave Parks helps shape, develop, and optimise surf parks and surf-anchored mixed-use destinations — as partner developer, development advisor, operating partner, or specialist consultant.
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Surf parks which leveraged GWP work
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Continents of project activity
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Flexible engagement models available
360°
Strategy through to operations capability
Our Perspective
Surf parks are destinations. We help build them that way.
Most surf parks focus on the wave. We help optimise everything that makes the surf park perform — design, pricing, programming, sponsorship, events, F&B, retail and non-surf visitors — then optimise and unlock the additional adjacent real estate opportunities: sport, culture, entertainment, RDE, hotel and residential opportunities, maximising the surf park economics and adjacent real estate value uplift.
What Makes Us Different
A rare combination of capabilities
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Destination thinking, not just wave thinking
With our team's background in large-scale greenfield real estate developments, we think beyond the wave pool and surf park to the full value creation platform: the surf park is an anchor to wider mixed-use real estate development.
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Commercial sophistication and consumer insight
Primary market research, willingness-to-pay testing, and advanced pricing design — maximising profits by customising the business model to your market, not basing it on irrelevant benchmarks.
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Flexible support model
From advisory engagements through to partner developer roles — we structure around what each project needs.
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Strategy, development, financing and operations combined
Our team spans strategy, development, financing, park operations and venue performance.
What We Do
Four ways we can support your project
GWP engages across the full spectrum — from targeted consulting mandates through to partner developer roles. We structure our involvement around what each opportunity genuinely requires.
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Owner / Partner Developer
Where GWP takes a direct role in shaping, structuring, and helping deliver the destination either alone or alongside a project sponsor or landowner, from project inception all the way through to long-term operation and commercialisation.
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Development Support
For landowners, developers, or project sponsors who need specialist and specific project support: market evaluation, concept development, business case, financial models, development strategy and execution, design reviews, operating and commercial model development.
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Operating Support
For venues or projects needing operating-model design, commercial improvement, or pre-opening readiness support. Focused on revenue maximisation across all revenue streams and best-in-class operating effectiveness, resilience and efficiency.
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Advisory & Consulting
For targeted strategic, commercial, operational, design or diagnostic work where focused expert input is needed. Engagements may cover market research, design review, business case review, pricing strategy, operating strategy and model review, and market entry assessment.
Project Types
Five project types we work with
Surf-anchored opportunities take many forms. Each product type combines wave technology with a distinct commercial logic, audience and real estate role — and each demands a different commercial, operating and development approach.
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Surf Park Destinations
High-performance surf parks combining wave technology, coaching, F&B, events and lifestyle programming into a standalone leisure destination.
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Next-Generation Members' Clubs
Premium clubs combining sport, wellness, social, family and cultural experiences designed for recurring membership revenues and high-quality lifestyle experiences.
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Surf-Anchored Districts
Mixed-use destinations where a surf park drives footfall, identity and value across hotels, sports, leisure, entertainment, retail and residential uses.
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Surf Living Communities
Residential developments built around private surf access, creating a distinctive lifestyle proposition and premium real estate positioning.
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Retail Surf Anchors
Surf and standing-wave attractions integrated into shopping centres to generate traffic, extend dwell time and reposition retail assets as experience-led destinations.
Our Values
A responsibility to what gives us the wave
Surfers thrive on what nature provides. We feel a responsibility to protect it — so it keeps providing for the surfers, communities and businesses that come after us. In everything we develop, we aim for no negative impact on the environment around us. Through sustainable construction, sustainable operation, and support for environmental projects beyond our sites, our intent is to be a net contributor to the environment, not just a neutral one.
This isn't only a values commitment. Sustainable design also makes commercial sense — and we treat the two as inseparable.
Sustainable construction & operation
Solar generation, rainwater capture and reuse, advanced water treatment and recirculation, low-impact construction methods, and zero-waste operating standards. Wave pools are energy-intensive, and demand for energy is only increasing — generating our own renewable energy on site where possible lowers operating costs, hedges against energy price volatility, and ensures the energy we use is energy we produce. Sustainability isn't a layer on top of the project — it's part of the project economics.
Surf, shared more widely
Surf is a profoundly mood-shifting activity, and we believe its benefits should reach beyond those who can afford a membership. Where conditions allow, our projects build in community access programmes and partnerships with local schools — sharing what surfing offers with those who would otherwise have no path to it. The same applies for all the sports in our parks.
Pathways for the next generation
World-class surf, sport and adventure venues are also rare opportunities to develop the people who play in them. We build talent identification and athlete development pathways into our parks. Regional amateur and professional events in partnership with federations and professional leagues provide opportunities for athletes to test and push themselves against the best, and inspire young talent to develop themselves in sports. Wave pools have already proved their ability to hugely speed up development. Done well, surf parks have the opportunity to not just be a place to surf and practice sports, but the core driver to a new level of professional adventure sports.
Communities, not just facilities
Sport and movement matter for physical and mental health. So does connection and community. We design our destinations to be more than sports facilities: places where amateurs, families, and casual users build community around shared activity. Through clubs, training programmes, events, and the cultural and leisure programming we build alongside the wave, we want our parks to become embedded in local life — places that help people connect and build lifelong friendships, beyond the polarised digital world we live in.
The Team
Built for every dimension of surf destination development
GWP was created to fill a genuine market gap. We combine deep understanding of the surf market with institutional-grade capability across strategy, design, development, financing, operations, and commercial.
Ben Lonsdale
Founder & CEO
Ben has extensive experience in sports, culture and entertainment across North America, South America, Europe and the Middle East. Former Head of Strategy for NEOM Entertainment & Culture, ex-McKinsey consultant, former Managing Director of Groupon Brazil, built up IMG's stadium and arena business in LatAm and was the youngest-ever speaker on the ASP World Tour. Graduated from the University of Oxford, a surfer at heart, and passionate about building businesses and real estate development, he now drives GWP's vision for world-class surf-anchored destinations.
Raj Saha
Co-Founder, Board Member & Head of Venue Operations
Raj has over 25 years of experience opening and operating stadiums, arenas and complex sports, leisure and entertainment venues. He spent 10 years at AEG as Director of Operations in Europe, helped launch O2 Arena, led operations in Brazil across Allianz Parque, Maracanã and Arena Pernambuco, served as General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks' Fiserv Forum. A Syracuse University graduate, he brings world-class venue operations and revenue expertise to GWP's projects.
Jon Coxeter-Smith
Co-Founder, Board Member & Head of Infrastructure and Project Management
Jon has over 40 years of global experience in the planning, development and delivery of major sports and entertainment infrastructure. Founder of Sagacity and former Partner at AECOM / Davis Langdon, where he led the global sports department, he has advised on multi billion-dollar real estate development projects and major international events. He served as Senior Advisor to the London Olympic Delivery Authority for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games and is a member of the UKTI Global Sports Projects Advisory Group. Jon brings deep strategic, technical and delivery expertise to GWP's destination development work.
Jonathan Bismarck
Co-Founder & Head of Strategy
Jonathan has extensive strategy experience across public and private-sector sports, entertainment and cultural projects in the Middle East, including work in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Former Strategy Manager for NEOM Entertainment & Culture, Strategy Advisor to PIF, and most recently Senior Manager of Ideation Strategy for Miral, he also brings strategy consulting experience from Oliver Wyman and Roland Berger. A Bentley University graduate, he has advised leading institutions on complex development, operating model and investment questions, bringing rigorous analytical capability and regional delivery experience to GWP's surf-anchored destination projects.
Magnus Corassini
Co-Founder & Head of Engineering
Magnus has 20 years of experience delivering major public and private-sector construction projects across Brazil. He brings significant expertise in engineering, project management and construction delivery, with hands-on experience managing complex works from planning through execution. His practical understanding of Brazilian construction environments, contractors and delivery risks supports GWP's ability to move from concept to buildable, financially disciplined projects.
Marco Nunes
Co-Founder & Technical Installations
Marco has deep experience in special installations, engineering systems and complex technical projects across the private and public sectors. Co-founder and partner of Aeronet Engenharia and O2S Soluções, he has delivered projects across hospitality, entertainment, commercial and residential real estate. His expertise in specialist systems and technical execution strengthens GWP's ability to integrate sophisticated infrastructure, venue operations and guest experience requirements into large-scale destination projects.
John Burroughs
Co-Founder and UK Lead
John has extensive experience in education, sports development, and the strategic use of physical activity to support young people in deprived communities. Currently the Director of Sport at The College of Richard Collyer, he is a dedicated advocate for reducing inactivity and promoting long-term health and well-being through community engagement. A sports science graduate and a passionate local South East surfer, John brings a coach's eye for athletic development and a deep belief in sport as a tool for community transformation.
Start a Conversation
Exploring a surf park or surf-anchored destination opportunity?
Whether you are a landowner, developer, investor, or project sponsor, we would be pleased to discuss how Global Wave Parks can support your project.
Global Wave Parks was created because very few firms in the world combine surf park expertise with institutional-grade capability across development, commercial design, operations, and strategy. We exist to make surf-anchored destinations succeed as businesses, not just as wave attractions.
Why This Matters
The gap between great surf and great business
Surf parks succeed when surf quality, destination logic, commercial model, development process, and operating design are aligned. Failures happen when teams focus exclusively on the wave technology and treat everything else as secondary.
GWP was created to bring those elements together — with the depth and rigour they each deserve, and the cross-functional perspective that makes them work in combination.
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Surf park strategy & business case design
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Development process and partner structuring
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Consumer research and commercial model design
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Operating strategy and revenue optimisation
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Placemaking and mixed-use destination logic
Leadership & Advisors
The people behind Global Wave Parks
Ben Lonsdale
Founder & CEO
Ben has extensive experience in sports, culture and entertainment across North America, South America, Europe and the Middle East. Former Head of Strategy for NEOM Entertainment & Culture, ex-McKinsey consultant, former Managing Director of Groupon Brazil, built up IMG's stadium and arena business in LatAm and was the youngest-ever speaker on the ASP World Tour. Graduated from the University of Oxford, a surfer at heart, and passionate about building businesses and real estate development, he now drives GWP's vision for world-class surf-anchored destinations.
Raj Saha
Co-Founder, Board Member & Head of Venue Operations
Raj has over 25 years of experience opening and operating stadiums, arenas and complex sports, leisure and entertainment venues. He spent 10 years at AEG as Director of Operations in Europe, helped launch O2 Arena, led operations in Brazil across Allianz Parque, Maracanã and Arena Pernambuco, served as General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks' Fiserv Forum. A Syracuse University graduate, he brings world-class venue operations and revenue expertise to GWP's projects.
Jon Coxeter-Smith
Co-Founder, Board Member & Head of Infrastructure and Project Management
Jon has over 40 years of global experience in the planning, development and delivery of major sports and entertainment infrastructure. Founder of Sagacity and former Partner at AECOM / Davis Langdon, where he led the global sports department, he has advised on multi billion-dollar real estate development projects and major international events. He served as Senior Advisor to the London Olympic Delivery Authority for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games and is a member of the UKTI Global Sports Projects Advisory Group. Jon brings deep strategic, technical and delivery expertise to GWP's destination development work.
Jonathan Bismarck
Co-Founder & Head of Strategy
Jonathan has extensive strategy experience across public and private-sector sports, entertainment and cultural projects in the Middle East, including work in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Former Strategy Manager for NEOM Entertainment & Culture, Strategy Advisor to PIF, and most recently Senior Manager of Ideation Strategy for Miral, he also brings strategy consulting experience from Oliver Wyman and Roland Berger. A Bentley University graduate, he has advised leading institutions on complex development, operating model and investment questions, bringing rigorous analytical capability and regional delivery experience to GWP's surf-anchored destination projects.
Magnus Corassini
Co-Founder & Head of Engineering
Magnus has 20 years of experience delivering major public and private-sector construction projects across Brazil. He brings significant expertise in engineering, project management and construction delivery, with hands-on experience managing complex works from planning through execution. His practical understanding of Brazilian construction environments, contractors and delivery risks supports GWP's ability to move from concept to buildable, financially disciplined projects.
Marco Nunes
Co-Founder & Technical Installations
Marco has deep experience in special installations, engineering systems and complex technical projects across the private and public sectors. Co-founder and partner of Aeronet Engenharia and O2S Soluções, he has delivered projects across hospitality, entertainment, commercial and residential real estate. His expertise in specialist systems and technical execution strengthens GWP's ability to integrate sophisticated infrastructure, venue operations and guest experience requirements into large-scale destination projects.
John Burroughs
Co-Founder and UK Lead
John has extensive experience in education, sports development, and the strategic use of physical activity to support young people in deprived communities. Currently the Director of Sport at The College of Richard Collyer, he is a dedicated advocate for reducing inactivity and promoting long-term health and well-being through community engagement. A sports science graduate and a passionate local South East surfer, John brings a coach's eye for athletic development and a deep belief in sport as a tool for community transformation.
Get in Touch
Let's discuss your project
Whether you are exploring a surf park, mixed-use destination, operating improvement initiative, or strategic advisory need, we would be pleased to hear from you.
