Professionals at Play sees turnover top £40m, extends credit facility: Professionals at Play – the Foresight-backed, parent company of the Roxy Lanes, Roxy Ball Room, King Pins and Star Pins concepts, saw its turnover for the year to 29 December 2024, climb 24% to £40,601,000 (2023: £32,761,000), on the back of new openings, and extension in capacity and refurbishments. The business, which was founded by Matt and Ben Jones in 2013, saw adjusted Ebitda increase by 13% in the period to £9m (2023: £8m), while its pre-tax profit stood at £1,641,000 (2023: £2,036,000). The company said: “Following on from significant growth in 2023, the group continued its growth in line with its expansion plan in 2024, opening four sites in new locations in the year, expanded the capacity of Roxy Lanes Bristol, and undertook a significant refurbishment of Roxy Boar Lane. This included the opening of a new brand, the fourth distinctive brand in the group, Star Pins. By the end of the financial year, there were 22 sites open and operational within the estate (2023: 18), all under the brands Roxy Ball Room, Roxy Lanes, King Pins and Star Pins. Looking forward to 2025, the group is keen to pursue further expansion in line with its’ strategic objectives. By the end of the next financial year, the business plans to open at least five new sites across its three brands, along with plans to invest in the existing estate. Common with high-growth companies, the group is funded by a combination of debt, share capital and the cash flow generated from its trading activities. Whilst the group is in a net current liabilities position at the end of the financial year, these liabilities include £8m in loan notes, which were extended after the balance sheet date, along with substantial property-related current liabilities that do not impact cash flow. Subsequent to the year-end, the Revolving Credit Facility was also extended to £10m to support the groups’ continued expansion plan whilst giving sufficient cash headroom for the foreseeable future and for at least the next 12 months. The group continues to pursue its strategy to expand across the UK. This has included opening its first Roxy venue in London (April 2025), along with King Pins venues in Bristol (February 2025) and Glasgow (June 2025).” The company, which currently operates 25 sites, will open its second London site early next year, in High Holborn. Roxy Ball Room made its debut in London with an opening at St Mary Axe, opposite the Gherkin, in April – offering American pool, basketball, beer pong, crazy pool, duckpin bowling, ice-free curling, ping pong, karaoke, tech darts and tech shuffle. The business currently operates 11 Roxy Ball Rooms, eight Roxy Lanes, five King Pins and one Star Pins site.

Boojum saw average sales increase 9.4% in the period it was acquired by Azzurri: Boojum, the burrito brand, which was acquired by the Azzurri Group in summer 2023, saw its average weekly sales climb 9.4% and turnover top £35m in the 62 weeks to 30 June 2024. The business saw turnover in the period reach £35,183,688 (12 months to 23 April 2023: £26,984,781), with underlying Ebitda of £3,702,709 (2023: £3,259,836). Pre-tax profit stood at £1,565,847 (2023: £2,200,485). The company said: “The group reported strong revenue and gross profit growth in the extended 62-week financial period ended 30 June 2024, with weekly average sales increasing by 9.4% versus the preceding period and gross returns up 9.1%. Underlying Ebitda of £3.7m was achieved against a backdrop of inflationary cost pressures and additional expenditure required to facilitate the expansion of the existing store portfolio. These results reflect another year of progress in the group’s strategy to build a scaled, multi-region food business. Trading in Northern Ireland and Ireland remained robust, with continued customer demand and operational consistency across the established estate. During the year. Boojum was acquired by Azzurri Group. The acquisition facilitated Boojum’s entry into the GB market, opening the first store in Leeds in April 2024 alongside a purpose-built central kitchen facility in the same city. Three further stores have been opened after the balance sheet date. Whilst these investments impact short-term profitability, the group ended the year with positive momentum and a solid platform in place to reach more geographic markets, to positively engage with more customers, and to continue to scale.” Last month, Propel revealed that the business had closed two England-based sites, but told Propel it remained “hugely confident in the strength of the Boojum business”. Azzurri acquired the then 14-strong Boojum business in the summer of 2003 for circa £23m. It made the investment to support Boojum’s expansion into Britain, with a debut mainland site opening in Leeds in April last year, alongside a significant investment in a central production kitchen in the UK. A second restaurant opened in Nottingham last September, while further openings followed in Birmingham and Liverpool. The company has now closed the sites in Birmingham and Nottingham and said the closures “form part of a natural learning process as we scale beyond our home market”.

David Kaminsky joins Zip World as its new COO: David Kaminsky, who recently stepped down as managing director of Ninja Warrior operator Leisure TV Rights (LTR) after three and a half years with the business to take up a “new opportunity”, has joined adventure tourism operator Zip World as its new chief operating officer. Kaminsky, a former operations director at Côte Brasserie and Wagamama, was promoted to managing director of LTR in November 2023 after joining the business in 2022 as people and operations director. He joined the business when it had one Ninja Warrior Adventure Park in Leeds. During his tenure, the company grew to five Ninja sites in partnership with ITV, with the latest opening being in Teesside in July 2024 – the brand’s most successful opening to date. Along with the executive team, he also worked on The Chase Experience concept and proposition. He had been leading LTR since Lisa Buckley stepped down as chief executive last October. Zip World, which was acquired at the start of the year by private equity firm Dolphin Capital in a deal worth £100m, currently operates eight locations across Wales and England. Earlier this summer, it hired Darren Stevens, formerly of RedCat Pub Company and Greene King, as its new development director.