Mike Ashley continues leisure push with Boom Battle Bar deal
A company backed by Mike Ashley has snapped up Boom Battle Bar for £11m, extending the retail tycoon’s push into leisure and hospitality.
Leisure operator We Do Play, which is backed by Ashley’s Frasers Group, has bought back the business its bosses founded from experiential leisure group XP Factory.
Mike Ashley began his retail empire in discount activewear with Sports Direct but Frasers’ acquisition of a minor stake in We Do Play saw his firm expand into trampoline parks and mini golf.
The leisure group owns indoor trampoline park chain Flip Out, Laser Quest and axe-throwing bar firm Rumble Rooms.
Richard Beese, chief executive of We Do Play, founded Boom Battle Bar in 2020. The franchise combines bar service with axe-throwing, mini-golf and augmented-reality darts.
Beese said: “It is incredibly exciting to have our brand back. We created Boom Battle Bar because we believed it could transform competitive socialising, and welcoming it home is a very special full-circle moment for us.
“XP Factory has done a fantastic job of developing Boom Battle Bar into an incredible national brand. We have enormous respect for the hard work and investment they have put into the business, as well as the brilliant teams who have helped build it.”
Frasers ‘diversifies’ into trampoline parks
Boom Battle Bar, which currently operates 29 venues in the UK, is set to introduce “new technology, games and experiences” across its sites.
We Do Play wants to expand the chain to 50 locations in the country by the end of the decade, and will target large towns and cities where it believes there is “significant untapped demand”.
“We believe the next phase of competitive socialising will be defined by stronger experiences, innovation, technology and well-invested venues,” Beese said.
“With the UK market continuing to evolve and significant opportunities remaining in towns and cities across the country, we see substantial potential for Boom Battle Bar to grow from its existing base and reach new customers.”
When Frasers Group bought its stake in We Do Play, its chief acquisition officer James France described the move as a “significant milestone in our strategy to diversity and create more dynamic consumer and leisure experiences”.
Alongside Sports Direct, Frasers owns Jack Wills, Evans Cycles and Flannels. The group has recently pushed into luxury fashion by taking a stake in Hugo Boss and buying luxury department store chain Harvey Nichols.