London-listed Electra, which will keep a 17.8 per cent stake in the business, has confirmed that Hollywood Bowl will go public on September 21. Electra had earlier ruled out a summer float due to the uncertainty caused by the EU referendum, reports The Telegraph.
The 160p-per-share placing is expected to net Electra and Hollywood Bowls’ management team, which will keep a 5.4 per cent stake, £181.3m in proceeds, two years after the private equity fund bought the bowling company for £91m.
Under Electra, which also owns stakes in Parkdean Resorts and TGI Fridays, Hollywood Bowl expanded to 54 sites around the country and last year bought smaller rival Bowlplex.
Stephen Burns, Hollywood Bowl’s chief executive, said the float would help grow the business further. He said: “We’ve achieved a huge amount over the past few years, transforming the business through investment and acquisition.”
Hollywood Bowl posted £55m in sales in the six months to March 30, an 11.1 per cent rise on a like-for-like basis, which strips out the effects of new site openings. Adjusted profits hit £16.8m, up from £11m in the previous year.
Ten-pin bowing is the fastest growing segment of the £80bn leisure sector, according to consultancy firm Pragma, which said revenues grew 6 per cent last year against a wider 3 per cent rise in the industry.
Electra and Investec’s decision to pull the plug on a float after the Brexit vote mirrored moves by Telefonica, the telecoms firm which owns O2, to delay a London listing of the mobile network amid turbulent post-referendum markets.
Shares in FTSE 250-listed Electra increased 3pc on Friday morning to £42.48.
