Escape Hunt PLC (LON:ESC) announced yesterday its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2019.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
· Group revenue up 128% to £4.9m (2018: £2.2m)
· Revenue from owner-operated sites up 275% to £3.8m (2018: £1.0m)
· Site level Adjusted EBITDA from owner-operated sites rose to £0.6m[1] (2018: loss £0.5m)
· Franchise EBITDA increased to £0.3m (2018: £14k)
· Group Adjusted EBITDA loss £1.7m (2018: loss £3.1m)
· Group operating loss of £5.9m (2018: loss of £10.0m)
· Cash at year end £2.2m (2018: £2.7m) and £1.2m on 30 April 2020
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
· Nine ‘Escape Hunt’ branded sites open in the UK at year end (2018: eight sites)
· Number of active UK games rooms increased to 49 (2018: 38 rooms)
· Like-for-like revenue growth in Q4 2019 of 34% from three most mature owner-operated sites
· Strong Christmas trading in both owner-operated and franchise estates continued into the new year, pre-impact of COVID-19
· Encouraging pipeline of new sites in ongoing negotiations with more favourable property market conditions
· New, strategically important franchise Area Representative Agreement signed with PCH to cover US and Canada
· Rationalisation of underperforming franchisee sites supporting improved profitability for franchise business during the year
· Raised £3.7m (net of expenses) through an equity placing in June 2019
POST YEAR END & COVID-19 UPDATE
· Trading in the period 1 January 2020 to 29 February 2020 was strong with revenue and owner-operated site performance comfortably ahead of Board’s expectations
· First US site under PCH Area Representative Agreement opened in March 2020 in Houston, Texas
· Virtual reality being trialed in two rooms at the newest site, Birmingham Resorts World
· New Doctor Who game launched in March 2020 under licence with BBC Studios. BBC Studios announced in April 2020 that the new story ‘Time Lord Victorious’ will be released later this year on multiple platforms
· Proactive, early measures taken to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, including:
o Significant cost reductions implemented to put core business into ‘hibernation’
o Deferral of costs where possible
o Grant and other support from UK Government
o Launch of play at home games enhancing brand exposure
o All UK owner-operated sites were closed on 20 March 2020 until further notice
o Lockdowns are in place in other countries which impact the majority of the Company’s international franchise network
· Planned openings of two new owner-operated sites deferred to post-lockdown
· Pipeline for new sites remains attractive
The Board is actively exploring options to access further capital and to finance its strategic objectives for 2020 and beyond and to provide additional working capital in the short and medium term.
Richard Harpham, Chief Executive of Escape Hunt, commented : “The strong performance at a site level in Q4 2019 which ran into Q1 2020 demonstrates the very attractive return on capital metrics and the potential for strong growth in the business. This has given us greater confidence in our plans to grow both our owner-operated estate in the UK and our franchise network internationally. Whilst the business has been severely impacted in the short term by COVID-19, the support and understanding we have received from our employees and many of our suppliers has been amazing and, as such, we remain confident in the medium and long term prospects for the business.”
