Hollywood Bowl Group sales jump on 'exceptional pent-up demand'

Hollywood Bowl Group enjoyed bumper results in the six months to the end of March, thanks to ‘exceptional pent-up demand’. 

The group raked in £100.2million worth of revenue over the period, up from £10.4million by the same point a year ago. 

The ten-pin bowling operator’s adjusted EBITDA increased 46.8 per cent when compared to the first half of 2019, reaching £31million.

Today, the company also revealed that it had snapped up Canada-based bowling firm Teaquinn Holdings for £10.6million.

Teaquinn comprises of Splitsville, an operator of ten-pin bowling centres and Striker Bowling Solutions, a B2B supplier and installer of bowling equipment. 

Hollywood Bowl shares jumped today and were up 4 per cent or 9.52p to 247.52p this afternoon, but have only risen by around 1 per cent over the past year.  

Hollywood Bowl said games like-for-like volumes increased by 18.1 per cent and average spend per game swelled by 7.5 per cent to £10.52 in the first half.

Amusement revenue increased by 43.6 per cent ‘following improvements to games and layouts’, the group said. 

Food revenue rose by 8.4 per cent as the group retained a simplified food menu ‘while focusing on quality and speed of service.’ 

Drinks like-for-like revenue increased by 22.9 per cent, bolstered by ‘lane ordering technology’, according to the company.  

The group opened two new centres during the half, taking the total number of centres in the estate to 66 at the end of the period. 

Stephen Burns, the group’s boss, said: ‘We saw exceptional pent-up demand in the first half which, in addition to the investments made in our customer experience, led to us achieving a record first half with four of our top performing months ever. 

‘I am very proud of the hard work that went into delivering this excellent performance with high customer satisfaction scores and we were delighted to reward our team members as well as now reinstating our dividend. 

‘The strength of our balance sheet supports our ability to continue to invest in our growth strategy, including growing our portfolio in the UK as well as our entry into the Canadian market. 

‘While we are aware of the financial challenges many of our customers are facing, we continue to provide a great value for money experience. We are confident that demand will remain resilient as families seek out affordable leisure activities.’

Commenting on the acquisition announce today, Pat Haggarty, founder and president of Splitsville and Striker Bowling Solutions, said: ‘I am very excited that our business will now be part of the Hollywood Bowl Group. 

‘We share an ambition and vision for the long-term growth of the business and crucially, we are a great cultural fit. 

‘Hollywood Bowl Group has led the ten-pin bowling industry in a number of ways for many years and I am looking forward to working with Stephen and his team and applying their knowledge and experience to our operations in ways which will enhance our customers experience as we grow the business.’