ESC.L Share News (ESC)

(Sharecast News) - Escape room experience operator Escape Hunt updated the market on its opening plans for the UK owner-operated estate on Monday, with the looming end of the second nationally-enforced England lockdown.
The AIM-traded firm said that the sites in England, other than those in areas designated 'tier 3' under the coronavirus tiered classification system, would re-open on 2 December.

It said the sites that would re-open were Basingstoke, Liverpool, Norwich, Reading and Oxford.

In addition, the board announced the formal opening of its newest site in Cheltenham, reporting that the fit-out was completed on-time and within budget during November, with the venue to open its doors on 2 December.

It said Cheltenham is the 12th owner-operated site in the UK, and the 13th in the portfolio, inclusive of Dubai which re-opened on 20 October and was trading in line with expectations.

Work on the fit-out in Watford, which would be the 14th owner-operated site, continued in line with plans.

Sites in Birmingham, Birmingham Resorts World, Bristol, Leeds and Manchester were in areas designated 'tier 3', and would remain closed pending changes to their local tier classifications.

The site in Edinburgh, which is not subject to the tier system and was not previously forced to close, would be subject to revised rules in Scotland, for which definitive guidance was not yet available.

As it set out on 4 November, Escape Hunt shifted its focus to its digital and remote-play games during the lockdown, reporting "strong progress" on Monday.

The company said it saw a "significant increase" in the level of enquiries and bookings, which were helped by corporates seeking seasonal activities for their staff.

It said it remained optimistic for the prospects for those digital and remote-play games, both in the run-up to Christmas and as a permanent feature of its portfolio.

"We are pleased that much of our UK estate will be open from 2 December and are very excited to be opening our newest site at the Brewery Quarter in Cheltenham," said chief executive officer Richard Harpham.

"The performances of both our recent openings in Norwich and Basingstoke give us cause for optimism for Cheltenham."

Harpham said that, while the restrictions imposed by the tiered system meant life would not be able to return to normal, the "strong performance" during the schools' half-term week in October, during which a number of sites were subject to the 'tier 2' or 'tier 3' restrictions at the time, provided a "positive indication" for prospects over the holiday period.

"This will be further supported by the progress we have made with our digital and remote play propositions and we approach the future with cautious optimism."

At 1104 GMT, shares in Escape Hunt were up 8.48% at 17.9p.