TIDMIMMO
RNS Number : 7015G
Immotion Group PLC
08 November 2018
8 November 2018
Immotion Group plc
("Immotion Group", the "Company" or "the Group")
Business Update
Immotion Group plc, the UK-based immersive virtual reality
("VR") 'Out of Home' entertainment business, is pleased to announce
that it has secured a range of ImmotionVR Experience Centre sites
and entered into new revenue share partnerships ("Concession
Partnerships"). This is expected to increase the number of
installed VR headsets, ("seats") from 105 today to 191, an increase
of 82%.
Highlights:
-- Two new major Concession Partnerships secured with The Rank
Group plc in the UK and Al Hokair Group. The latter is the Group's
first major Concession relationship in the Middle East
-- Five additional ImmotionVR Experience Centres to be opened
across the UK, which will bring the total number of Experience
Centres to 12
-- US roll out initiated with first ImmotionVR Experience Centre test site opened in LA
-- Strong trading reported in all UK ImmotionVR Experience
Centres, including its operational entertainment concessions,
particularly given the recent half-term school holidays
o The 'Edutainment' Concession in W5 Belfast saw particularly
strong performance
-- Further proprietary VR content released, anticipated to
maintain the strong footfall experienced across current
operations
o 50% of revenue at the ImmotionVR Experience Centre in Bristol
is from pre-booked customers, many of whom are returning
customers
-- Further significant partnership and other opportunities are at advanced stages of negotiation
Martin Higginson, CEO of Immotion Group said:
"Our VR revenues have grown rapidly since listing following the
consistent roll out of our owned and operated ImmotionVR Experience
Centres and our entry into numerous Concession Partnerships. We are
very pleased with the reception our experiences are receiving from
consumers and while VR still has a long way to go, it is clearly
here to stay given the five-star Trip Advisor ratings across the
majority of our sites, alongside increasing numbers of returning
customers. We have a first mover advantage and each week we learn,
helping us refine our offering for the future.
"Our relationships with shopping mall owners continue to get
stronger, especially with Intu, who are now our largest retail
partner. The new concession initiatives with The Rank Group, and Al
Hokair are both major milestones for the company and I am confident
that following successful trials, we will have a clear runway for
future site roll out.
"We continue to see strong interest from major leisure operators
wanting to partner with Immotion Group to exploit the growing
appetite for VR. As the only player offering quality proprietary
content, motion platform and marketing solutions in multiple
jurisdictions, we are quickly becoming the VR partner of
choice.
"The new experiences produced by our award-winning team in
Manchester take motion platform-based VR to a new level. We're
confident the new Christmas VR experience, 'Elf Power Inc.' will be
a big hit with our audiences this Christmas."
Opening of Additional ImmotionVR Experience Centres
Immotion Group will open a further five VR Experience Centres in
the UK before the end of 2018, bringing the total number of
ImmotionVR Experience Centres in the UK to 12 when the roll-out is
complete.
Two of these will be opened in shopping centres owned by Intu
which sees the Company expanding the relationship outlined with the
leading shopping centre operator in the announcement dated 5
September 2018.
The additional sites will be opened in high footfall retail and
leisure locations as follows:
-- Soar leisure destination at Braehead, Glasgow (Intu)
-- The Metro Centre in Newcastle (Intu)
-- London Designer Outlet, Wembley Park
-- The Brunel in Swindon
-- Star City, Birmingham
With seven ImmotionVR Experience Centres, owned by the Group and
currently in operation in the UK, this will bring the total number
of UK ImmotionVR Experience Centres to 12. The Company also has one
USA test site.
The Company believes there are opportunities to open VR
experience centres in most primary shopping malls in larger cities
in the UK and USA with a target of 50 in the UK and 100 in the USA
in the next 24 months.
Further Concession Partnerships
In line with its strategy to grow its Concession base, by
working with large established multi-site leisure operators, the
Company is pleased to announce that it has secured two new
Concession Partners which is anticipated to substantially increase
the number of installed seats.
These will add to the existing range of VR centres currently
operating on a Concession basis:
-- VR Entertainment Centre in LEGOLAND(R) Discovery Centre, Boston USA - Merlin Entertainment
-- VR Entertainment Centre in LEGOLAND(R) Discovery Centre,
Manchester, UK - Merlin Entertainment
-- VR Centre at Genting Resorts World in Birmingham
-- VR 'Edutainment' concession in partnership with W5 Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland
These relationships offer valuable ancillary revenue from a new
attraction for the partner and access to large, proven and
established leisure audiences for Immotion Group. By carefully
selecting partners and testing formats before full roll-out, the
Company believes this can be a very significant and attractive
channel for rapid scaling of the Group.
Al Hokair Group
The first of these contracts is a major partnership agreement
with the Al Hokair Group for the roll out of ImmotionVR centres
across the GCC countries. The Al Hokair Group is a significant
owner and operator of leisure destinations in the Middle East. Over
the last five decades, Al Hokair Group has grown into a leading
leisure and hospitality group with 79 entertainment centres and 34
hotels across Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Al Hokair
is listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange.
The revenue sharing partnership will see Immotion Group and Al
Hokair initially open an ImmotionVR Experience Centre in Abu Dhabi,
with further centres to follow based on test results. Immotion
Group will provide the VR equipment, marketing collateral, and
staff training, with Al Hokair providing the sites, staff and
utilities.
Rank Leisure Group plc ("Rank Leisure")
In the UK, the company has entered into a revenue sharing
partnership with Rank Leisure to trial the Company's new VR Racing
Challenge offering, a realistic VR car racing simulator game where
customers can compete against each other racing cars around some of
the World's most famous racing circuits.
The first will be opened at a Grosvenor Casino in Manchester in
early December, 2018, with further sites to be rolled out based on
test results. Rank has 54 Grosvenor casino sites in the UK.
Additional Sites
The Company is also opening two smaller sites through concession
partnerships with Weston Pier in Somerset and Meet Space VR in
Nottingham. Meet Space VR recently opened a Zero Latency free
roaming VR centre in Intu's Victoria shopping centre in
Nottingham.
New Proprietary VR Experiences
Immotion Group continues to add new proprietary experiences to
its portfolio. It is pleased to announce the launch of two new
cutting-edge VR experiences produced exclusively in its Manchester
studios. The first is 'Jinxed' - a curious VR ghost train
experience through a strange and bizarre fun house ride, and the
second 'Elf Power Inc.' - a magical journey alongside Santa's elves
as they deliver Christmas in their own special way.
Immotion Group is also in the final stages of post-production
for a ground-breaking live action VR undersea 'Edutainment'
Experience - 'Swimming with Humpbacks' - to add to its 'Legend of
Lusca' underwater experience. This was led by the Company's live
action studio in LA.
All experiences will be available in all ImmotionVR Experience
Centres and selected Concessions.
**ENDS**
Enquiries:
Immotion Group Martin Higginson Tel: +44 (0) 161 235 8505
WH Ireland Limited Adrian Hadden Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666
(Nomad and Joint Broker) Jessica Cave
Shard Capital Partners Damon Heath Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9900
LLP Erik Woolgar
(Joint Broker)
Newgate Communications Elisabeth Cowell Tel: +44 (0) 20 3757 6880
(Financial PR) Robin Tozer Immotion@newgatecomms.com
About Immotion Group:
Immotion Group, co-founded by Martin Higginson and David Marks
in 2017, generates revenues through the delivery of high quality
"state of the art" VR experiences, combined with cutting edge
motion platforms to consumers at an affordable price point through
a range of routes:
-- Sales - sale of VR Motion Platforms to Leisure and
Entertainment operators provide the opportunity for the operator to
drive substantial ancillary revenues
-- Concession partners - currently installed at a range of
outlets including Merlin Entertainments' LEGOLAND(R) Discovery
Centres in Boston, USA and in Manchester, UK and Genting Resorts
World in Birmingham - this channel provides an opportunity for its
partners to earn ancillary revenues, as well as providing an
exciting additional attraction to their facilities
-- Owned and franchised Experience Centres, trading as
ImmotionVR, located in high footfall locations such as shopping
centres
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END
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