XP Factory (XPF) , the experiential leisure company behind Escape Hunt and Boom Battle Bar, updated markets on trading for the 6 months to 30 June 2023. (H1 2023)
Trading in H1 2023 was strong on the back of significant expansion in FY22. Turnover grew over 130% to £18.8m from £8.1m a year ago, driven by an increase in number of sites and strong like-for-like growth in both Boom Battle Bar and Escape Hunt. As of June 2023, XP Factory had 27 Boom Battle Bar sites, up from 17 last year, and 46 Escape Hunt sites, up from 42 last year.
In the 26 weeks to 2 July 2023, Boom Battle Bar sales increased 19% and Escape Hunt was up 20% on a like-for-like yearly basis. EBITDA was up 245% to £3.8m for the sites that XP Factory owns (roughly half), and for the franchised locations EBITDA was up 30% to £1.5m.
XP Factory held £3.6m in cash on 30 June 2023, up from £3.2m six months ago.
Richard Harpham, CEO, commented: "We are delighted to have delivered such transformational growth compared to the same period in 2022. The performance in Escape Hunt has been outstanding and we are delighted to see the young Boom business continue to mature with ongoing improvements to its operating metrics. We are mindful of the pressures on consumers and on our cost base which bring an element of short term caution but we remain optimistic for the future of both our businesses and for the 2023 outturn."
View from Vox
These are very strong results from XP Factory, ahead of management expectations and building on solid FY22 growth. Group turnover more than doubled, with Boom Battle Bar sales up more than 400%, and EBITDA margins continuing to trend toward mature targets.
XP Factory is continuing its aggressive expansion in the UK and abroad. In addition to the abovementioned increase in the number of Boom and Escape Hunt locations in H1 (in total up 24%), the company opened a new Escape Hunt venue in Woking and a new Boom site in Dubai, wioth both reporting strong trading so far.
XP Factory also has 2 new Boom sites under construction in the UK due to open in the coming months, and in June completed the acquisition of 2 further former Boom franchise sites in Chelmsford and Ealing. Group cash was a healthy £3.6m, available to fund further expansion, although strong cashflows from recently opened locations has made borrowing an attractive option to speed up growth as well.
Despite the cost of living crisis affecting leisure spending, XP Factory saw trading in July significantly ahead of May and June, with even better trading forecast for August based on early indications. In addition to strong summer trading, the company is seeing record pre-bookings for corporate and group sales for H2, increasing revenue visibility and confidence in full-year performance in line with market forecast.
Markets welcomed the strong results, pushing XPF shares 8.8% higher in early trading on Friday.
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