REG - XP Factory PLC - FY25 Trading Update

XP FactoryAnnouncement

Tue 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20250506:nRSF3372Ha&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 3372H  XP Factory PLC  06 May 2025

6 May 2025

XP Factory Plc

 

("XP Factory", the "Company" or the "Group")

 

FY25 Trading Update

"Underlying EBITDA for financial year to 31 March 2025 at the upper end of
market expectations"

 

XP Factory, one of the UK's pre-eminent experiential leisure businesses
operating the Escape Hunt® and Boom Battle Bar® brands, is pleased to
provide an update on trading for the 12-month period ended 31 March 2025.

 

Highlights:

·    Record full year Group revenue of £57.3m, up 17% vs prior year (12
months ended 31 March 2024: £48.0m)

o  Escape Hunt up 7% to £14.1m

o  Boom Battle Bar up 30% to £41.9m

·    Total Group like-for-like (LFL) revenue growth of +2.5%

o  Escape Hunt +3.2%

o  Boom Battle Bar +2.3%

·    Pre-IFRS 16 adj. EBITDA expected at the upper end of market
expectations

o  Market expectations: £6.2m - £6.4m

o  Prior year pre-IFRS 16 adj. EBITDA in the 12 months ended 31 March
2024(1): £5.1m

·    Robust pipeline of new sites advancing well

o  Canterbury Escape Hunt and Reading Boom Battle Bar expected to open
shortly

o  Five new sites in Heads of Terms with legals progressing

o  Two additional offers made

 

The year ended 31 March 2025 represented another strong period of trading at
XP Factory, including an exceptional festive period, with both businesses
generating positive LFL sales in a challenging consumer environment.

With a clearly defined target to deliver £90m sales and £13m pre-IFRS 16
adjusted EBITDA for FY28, a robust pipeline of new sites is being developed.
The underlying cash generation from operations, combined with a £10m
revolving credit facility, provides the balance sheet strength to execute
this.

Owner operated revenues at Escape Hunt were c. £14.1m in the 12 months to 31
March 2025, +3.2% on a LFL basis. New sites in Worcester, Glasgow and
Cambridge opened between August and December 2024 and have all started
strongly. Canterbury opened at the beginning of May 2025, and there is a
robust pipeline for future site openings through the remainder of FY26.
Unfortunately, Escape Hunt's first ever site, Birmingham Central, was forced
to close in March 2025 after the shopping centre in which it was located
ceased operations at short notice. The group is actively searching for a
replacement site.

Owner operated Boom revenue was c. £41.9m in the 12 months to 31 March 2025,
+2.3% on a LFL basis. Boom Cambridge has continued to perform strongly since
opening in December 2024, with Boom Reading due to open in June 2025.

Following an exceptional Christmas period, trading in both businesses
continued strongly through January and February 2025, with Escape Hunt +6.3%
LFL in the first eight weeks of the calendar year, and Boom +1.9% LFL in the
equivalent period. In line with industry data, both businesses were negatively
affected by the timing of Easter (March 2024 vs April 2025) and the unseasonal
weather in March (the sunniest on record), driving negative LFLs in both
brands in March. Normalising for these impacts, the Board would have expected
the LFL trend to have continued as previously.

Commenting, Richard Harpham, Chief Executive of XP Factory plc said: "I am
delighted that XP Factory has delivered another year of strong and profitable
growth, reflecting our customers' demand for fun and affordable leisure
activities, and our team's dedication to providing market-leading levels of
customer satisfaction. Whilst macro uncertainties remain and unseasonal
weather has impacted our most recent trading, we are confident in our outlook.
Our new sites continue to generate industry leading returns on capital and we
are excited about the growth runway ahead of us as we progress in our strategy
to double EBITDA to £13m by FY28."

 

(1)Annualisation of the FY25 15 month period to 31 March 2024 due to a change
in reporting period

Enquiries:

 XP Factory Plc                                                          +44 (0) 20 7846 3322

 https://www.xpfactory.com/ (https://www.xpfactory.com/)

 Richard Harpham (Chief Executive Officer)

 Graham Bird (Chief Financial Officer)

 Singer Capital Markets, NOMAD and Broker                                +44 (0) 20 7496 3000

 https://www.singercm.com (https://www.singercm.com)

 Peter Steel

 James Todd

 IFC Advisory - Financial PR                                             +44 (0) 20 3934 6630

 https://www.investor-focus.co.uk/ (https://www.investor-focus.co.uk/)

 Graham Herring

 Florence Staton

 

 

Notes to Editors:

About XP Factory plc

 

The XP Factory Group is one of the UK's pre-eminent experiential leisure
businesses which currently operates two fast growing leisure brands.  Escape
Hunt is a global leader in providing escape-the-room experiences delivered
through a network of owner-operated sites in the UK, an international network
of franchised outlets in five continents, and through digitally delivered
games which can be played remotely.

Boom Battle Bar is a fast-growing network of owner-operated and franchise
sites in the UK that combine competitive socialising activities with themed
cocktails, drinks and street food in a high energy, fun setting.  Activities
include a range of games such as augmented reality darts, Bavarian axe
throwing, 'crazier golf', shuffleboard and others.  The Group's products
enjoy premium customer ratings and cater for leisure or teambuilding, in small
groups or large, and are suitable for consumers, businesses and other
organisations. The Company has a strategy to expand the network in the UK and
internationally, creating high quality games and experiences delivered through
multiple formats and which can incorporate branded IP content.
(https://xpfactory.com/ (https://xpfactory.com/) )

 Facebook:   EscapeHuntUK       BoomBattleBar
 Twitter:    @EscapeHuntUK      @boombattlebar
 Instagram:  @escapehuntuk      @boombattlebar

 

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  UPDFIFEDEDIEIIE