Our strategy

Our approach:

• Sales, service, and safety excellence: We focus on superior sales, service, and safety to improve centre performance.
• Outstanding customer experience: We prioritise four key drivers of customer satisfaction: value for money, cleanliness, team friendliness, and service speed.
• Extended dwell time: We offer a diverse entertainment experience to increase customer dwell time.
• Technology investment: We invest in technology to enhance the digital customer journey, driving sales and engagement.
• Targeted digital marketing: We maximise customer awareness and engagement through targeted digital marketing campaigns.
• Enhanced food and beverage: We evolve our menus and remove barriers to ordering.
• Accessible amusement options: We enhance our amusement offer and focus on making them affordable and accessible.
• Minimised downtime: We reduce bowling-lane downtime through the rollout of Pins on Strings technology.

Key achievements in FY2025:

• Record customer satisfaction scores
• Record spend per game levels driven through £5m UK amusements investment, technology enhancements and yield management gains

Future plans:

• Maintain relentless focus on analysing and reacting to customer feedback
• Increased investment in technology and marketing spend to acquire and retain customers and drive yields

Our approach:

• Refurbishment programme: We run a five-to-seven-year refurbishment programme in the UK with an average spend of c.£400k per centre, ensuring our centres remain in top condition and allow us to introduce upgrades. Canada refurbishments are costing more initially as we combine upgrades with required maintenance spend to save time and further disruption.
• Space optimisation: We reconfigure centres to optimise space and drive revenues, such as combining bar and diner areas to create more amusement space and introducing mini-golf courses in under-utilised areas.
• Enhanced amusement offerings: We increase the space, density, and quality of family games and amusement machines, driving ancillary revenues.
• Digital content upgrades: We upgrade in-centre digital content systems to improve customer engagement and encourage food and beverage spending.
• Sustainability investment: We invest in solar panels and Pins on Strings to reduce our environmental impact.

Key achievements in FY2025:

• 12 Group refurbishments completed
• Pins on Stings in 97% of UK estate
• Space optimisation projects in selected centres introduced additional offers like e-darts and duckpin bowling

Future plans:

• One UK refurbishment in FY2026
• UK external signage upgrades
• Complete Pins on Strings roll out in Canada
• Trials of additional activities

Our approach:

• Quality openings: We focus on high-quality locations, setting a minimum 19 per cent ROI on net capital expenditure.
• Strategic acquisitions: We seek acquisitions that meet strict investment criteria, both overseas and in the UK, where we can add value and achieve sustainable, profitable growth.

Achievements in FY2025:

• Five new centres opened in UK
• Two new centres opened in Canada
• Achieved new centre target returns levels of 33% ROI
• Increased landlord demand in Canada

Future plans:

• Three new UK centres planned to be on site in FY2026
• First centre in Edmonton, Canada due to open in H1 FY2026
• Exciting pipeline in both territories – on target for 130 Group centres by FY20235

Our approach:

• Positive culture: We foster a positive, inclusive, fun, and high‑performance culture.
• Clear purpose: We ensure our purpose is well understood and underpins the way our teams work.
• Training and development: We provide industry-leading training and development programmes.
• Career progression: We offer all team members opportunities to progress and develop their careers.
• Competitive compensation: We offer competitive pay, benefits, and bonus schemes.
• Engagement and communication: We actively engage and regularly communicate with all team members.

Achievements in FY2025:

• Ranked in the Sunday Times Best places to work 2025 (very big organisation)
• Accredited as a Great Place to Work in Canada
• 61% of UK management positions filled internally
• Launched gradaute and apprenticeship programmes in the UK

Furure plans:

• Maintain relentless focus on delivering sector-leading team development programmes
• Continue to develop our employer brands in UK and Canada

Our approach:

• Extensive research: We undertake customer and market research to evaluate market opportunities.
• Investment criteria: We target fragmented and underinvested international markets that are ripe for consolidation and apply strict investment criteria before entering new markets.
• Trials: We conduct trials to test centre environments and customer propositions.

Achievements in FY2025:

• Now Canadian market leader in bowling
• Increased presence in key regions
• 3.9x revenue growth since market entrance in FY2022
• Revenues account for 15% of Group total

Future plans:

• Optimise future returns from FY2025 refurbishment and new centre investments
• 40 potential greenfield centres identified for new build centres in Canada