Escape Hunt PLC AGM Statement (9152Z)
September 24 2020 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMESC
RNS Number : 9152Z
Escape Hunt PLC
24 September 2020
24 September 2020
Escape Hunt plc (AIM: ESC)
("Escape Hunt" or the "Company")
AGM statement
Escape Hunt, a global leader in the growing escape rooms sector,
is holding its Annual General Meeting today which will be held as a
closed meeting. Ahead of the meeting, Richard Rose, its Chairman
provides the following statement on current trading:
"Trading in our UK owner-operated sites has been encouraging
since we re-opened on 12 July 2020. We initially chose to open
sites on Thursdays to Sundays only, with the exception of the
Summer Bank Holiday on 31 August 2020 and have since extended our
opening from Wednesday to Sunday. In the first eight weeks after
re-opening to 6 September 2020, sales grew from an initial level of
around 25% of the 7-day week's sales in the equivalent week in 2019
to over 90% of sales in the equivalent week in 2019 in each of the
last two weeks of the eight-week period. Since then September has,
as expected, seen the pace of recovery slow, although sales in the
six weeks to 20 September were nevertheless an encouraging 72% of
the same period in 2019.
Additionally, helped by the UK Government's flexible furlough
scheme and our reduced operating hours, we have been able to
operate sites significantly more efficiently with lower labour cost
ratios than we have historically been able to achieve. As expected,
the first four weeks following re-opening generated site level
EBITDA losses as the level of sales was not sufficient to cover
fixed costs, including property. However, in the six-week period to
20 September 2020, the growth in sales resulted in a positive site
level EBITDA which was approximately 33% higher than the site level
EBITDA in the equivalent six-week period in 2019. Whilst the period
under consideration is admittedly short, the performance is
encouraging, in particular the significantly higher profit
conversion ratios achieved. We are, however, aware of the growing
rate of COVID-19 infections and the likelihood of further
restrictions being imposed, whether national or local, which may
impact sentiment and performance.
With the exception of six of our thirty eight sites, our
international franchise network has also re-opened. While the rate
of recovery varies in different parts of the world, overall we
remain confident that key regions are recovering and will continue
to perform in future. We remain positive, in particular, about the
prospects for our US business through our area representative
agreement with PCH.
In other areas, we are making progress on our strategy. As
previously announced, on 23 September 2020, we opened our new site
in Norwich to the public and our site in Basingstoke is well
advanced and scheduled to open in October 2020. We have exchanged
and completed contracts and are on site at a new site in Cheltenham
and are in advanced legal discussions on a further two sites.
We have also been making progress on other initiatives. We were
delighted to be able to launch a series of downloadable, print and
play games during lockdown. The most recent of these has been done
in partnership with Netflix to coincide with the anticipated
release of a Netflix Original Film and represents an important step
in developing our 'Escape Hunt for Brands' proposition. In
addition, we launched a remote play format which enables players
collaborating remotely to direct a games master around a physical
room whilst solving puzzles. We have been developing the range of
remote and outdoor games which we offer using them to further
develop both our 'Escape Hunt for Brands' and 'Escape Hunt for
Business' propositions.
We will provide a further update in our interim results which
are due to be released on 29 September 2020."
Enquiries
Escape Hunt plc
Richard Harpham (Chief Executive Officer)
Graham Bird (Chief Financial Officer) +44 (0) 20 7846
Kam Bansil (Investor Relations) 3322
Shore Capital - NOMAD and Joint Broker
Tom Griffiths, David Coaten (Corporate Advisory) +44 (0) 20 7408
Fiona Conroy (Corporate Broking) 4050
Zeus Capital - Joint Broker
John Goold +44 (0) 20 3829
Daniel Harris 5000
IFC Advisory - Financial PR
Graham Herring +44 (0) 20 3934
Florence Chandler 6630
Notes to Editors
About Escape Hunt plc
The Escape Hunt Group 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. Its products enjoy
consistent premium customer ratings and cater for leisure or
teambuilding, in small groups or large, and are suitable for
consumers, businesses and other organisations. Having been
re-admitted to AIM in May 2017, the Company has a strategy of
creating high quality premium games and experiences delivered
through multiple formats and which can incorporate branded IP
content. (https://escapehunt.com/)
Facebook: EscapeHuntUK
Twitter: @EscapeHuntUK
Instagram: @escapehuntuk
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END
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