Ten-pin bowling operator Hollywood Bowl Group plc (LON:BOWL) said first half revenue rose 7.8% as it refurbished and rebranded its centres.
The group said it “traded well” in the six months to 31 March 2017 despite Easter falling into the second half. Like-for-like revenue increased 1.2%, although a later Easter reduced the growth by two percentage points.
Hollywood Bowl, which began trading on the London Stock Exchange last September, has completed refurbishment on one centre and rebranded four Bowlplex centres. These centres have continued to trade ahead of the company’s initial estimates.
The plan is to complete a total of six refurbishments in fiscal year 2017 and rebrand a further three Bowlplex centres.
The strategy outlined at the time of the initial public offering was to open two prime location centres per year, focusing on new centres and existing centre acquisitions.
Three new prime location centres will open in fiscal year 2017 and the group has six new centres in the pipeline until 2020.
Landlord contributions are expected to bring down the average net capital investment requirement across these centres to about £1.7mln.
The company said it is in a strong financial position thanks to robust cash generation and lower average net capital investment requirements for the pipeline.
Hollywood Bowl added that it continues to trade in line with its expectations for the full year.
“The group had its most successful Christmas period ever, with like-for-like sales growth for the fifth consecutive year despite extremely tough comparators,” said chief executive Stephen Burns.
“We are on track at the half year and are focused on delivering our goals and maximising the opportunities being created by our refurbishment programme and our strong new centre and acquisition pipeline.”