Hollywood Bowl buys Canadian brands in international expansion move

Hollywood Bowl has launched an international expansion with an acquisition in Canada after revenues leapt following the impact of the pandemic.

Shares in the firm bounced on Wednesday morning after the ten-pin bowling operator told shareholders it has snapped up Canadian bowling businesses Splitsville and Striker Bowling Solutions.

It said the Splitsville business currently has five sites but it will invest to drive two new openings each year for the next five years as part of growth plans.

This comes after Hollywood Bowl opened two new UK locations over the half-year to the end of March.

It has since opened a further site in Belfast with two more in its pipeline for the rest of the year.

It came as Hollywood Bowl said like-for-like revenues grew by 26.8% to £91.3 million over the half-year to March compared with pre-pandemic levels.

As a result, the business leapt to adjusted earnings of £39.2 million for the period.

Stephen Burns, chief executive of the company, said it saw “exceptional pent-up demand” during the period.

He added: “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.”

Shares in the company were 3.6% higher after early trading on Wednesday.