23 Jul 2018 07:01
Escape Hunt plc 23rd July 2018
("Escape Hunt" or the "Company")
Trading Update
Escape Hunt, the global provider of the live "Escape the Room" experiences, had previously announced that it was carrying out a strategic review of its operations, with a view to differentiating itself from the competition. The Company is delighted that the resulting rebranding and enhanced game design has delivered the desired results.
As referred to in the separate announcement made this morning relating to a new licensing deal, the exceptional customer reviews for the three sites opened earlier this year are translating into good financial performance thus far with revenue and EBITDA contribution, relative to the number of games rooms opened, having met our expectations. The Company has deliberately held back on building games in all available rooms to leave capacity for rooms for our new strategic partner which will launch from the end of 2018. Now the consumer experience has become established with weekend and peak occupancy often nearing 100%, Escape Hunt is starting to market weekday capacity to corporates.
The announcement in March also referred to the Company's plan to open a further five sites in the coming months. At that time, management was carrying out an extensive evaluation of set-build contractors and the Company has now identified a number of contractors with the required skills and competencies. After an initial delay, the Company is now able to proceed at pace and is pleased to announce it will be opening its next three sites in the coming weeks and another two in the last quarter of the year to bring the total number of sites to nine. While the Company remains strategically on track, the revised opening schedule coupled with holding back spare rooms will impact on current year performance.
With the games studio now established in London, Escape Hunt is closing its office in Bangkok at the end of July.
The Company will announce its interim results for the half year ended June 2018 in September.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
Enquiries
Escape Hunt plc
Richard Harpham (Chief Executive Officer) +44 (0) 7584 173958
Alistair Rae (Chief Financial Officer) +44 (0) 7736 883934
Mustapha Omar (Commercial Director) +44 (0) 7767 697596
Stockdale Securities Ltd
Daniel HarrisDavid Coaten, Fiona Conroy (Corporate Broking) +44 (0) 20 7601 6100
Peel Hunt LLP
George Sellar, Nicole McDougall +44 (0) 20 7418 8900
Yellow Jersey PR Limited
Harriet Jackson +44 (0) 7544275882
Henry Wilkinson +44 (0) 7951402336
About Escape Hunt
The Escape Hunt group is a global provider of live "escape the room" experiences. The first branch was opened in Bangkok, Thailand in 2013 and the business has grown rapidly, becoming a global network with mainly franchised outlets. The Company was re-admitted to AIM in May 2017 with the strategy of focussing on rolling out owner operated branches, whilst continuing the opening of franchise sites.