All Experiential leisure articles
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NewsSport boosts Market Halls summer of growth
The food hall operator benefited from robust food and drink sales, increased corporate bookings, growth of its competitive socialising concept Games Hall, and a packed programme of seasonal sporting events
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NewsWe Do Play plots fresh investment and further expansion following Boom Battle Bar acquisition
The group, led by Boom Battle Bar founder Richard Beese, plans to introduce new tech, games and experiences across the competitive socialising brand’s estate while also growing its footprint
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NewsXP Factory offloads Boom Battle Bar
The group has entered into an agreement that will see F.O Twenty-Four Ltd acquire the competitive socialising brand for a total consideration of up to £11m
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Weekend PressOdeon writes down cinema estate by £233m as audience recovery stalls
Accounts for Odeon Cinemas Group show the company recorded a £232.7m impairment charge in the year to December 2025, reflecting concerns that audiences may never fully return to the cinema habits they had before Covid-19
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NewsOpenings of the week
MCA rounds up the latest openings news, including a second site for Borough Market’s Roast restaurant, a new blueprint cafe for Chaiiwala and Market Place Food Hall’s new train station location.
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Analysis & InsightNight time sector shows tentative growth
The latest Night Time Economy Market Monitor reports the number of bars, clubs and other late-night venues grew by 0.4% between March and June 2026, the sector’s first growth in two years
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NewsSwingers rebrands as ‘Home of Rivalry’ in push beyond crazy golf
The competitive socialising company said the rebrand gives it a platform to expand into a wider mix of games, events, food and drink experiences
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Weekend PressCinema revival takes the big screen and makes it enormous
Film-goers are attending less often but spending more, splashing out on plush seats, elaborate cocktails and premium screens, the FT reports
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NewsOpenings of the week
MCA rounds up this week’s biggest openings stories including a new events space for Butcombe Group, Ole & Steen’s latest London location, and Burgerism’s nationwide expansion push
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NewsThird Space sees turnover top £100m
The luxury health club and fitness chain has reported a 36% turnover increase for 2025, boosted by growth in its membership
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NewsF1 Arcade in ‘a fast-moving growth phase’ as revenue rises
The Formula 1-inspired competitive socialising concept saw revenue increase 48% in 2025, driven by new site openings in the US and a strong performance across its UK estate
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NewsPitch secures US franchise partner
The competitive socialising brand has signed a deal to launch 15 sites across the US over the next five years, with a debut site in California opening in early 2027
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NewsMerlin secures £657m refinancing
The refinancing announcement came as Merlin reported a mixed first half, with trading impacted by challenging consumer conditions and adverse weather in some markets, despite continued growth at its Legoland parks and progress across several strategic priorities
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Analysis & InsightStrong performance across hospitality and leisure categories in August as consumer confidence improves
Spend across hospitality and leisure rose 3.3% last month, bolstered by marked improvement in the travel and entertainment segments
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NewsXP Factory faces ‘significantly weaker competitive socialising market’
Chairman James van den Bergh described the year as “one of resilience rather than progress”, with Escape Hunt in growth but Boom Battle Bar seeing declining sales
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NewsIn pictures: Montréal sports brasserie brand LaCage makes London debut
Canadian restaurant operator Groupe Grandio is taking its first step into an English-speaking market with the launch of LaCage in London’s Kensington
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NewsEveryman increases market share in H1
The boutique cinema chain has reported ‘growth across all key metrics’ in the first half of 2026 amid ‘strong results’ over a wide range of films, genres and events
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NewsBuzz Bingo attracts new generation of players
The company, formerly Gala Bingo, said that sales were boosted last year by investment in its 76-bingo hall estate to make it more appealing to a tech-savvy generation, with half of its 190,000 new customers under the age of 35.
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NewsFreight Island explores major events expansion
The urban market and entertainment-led brand will operate a dedicated seating area alongside bars and kitchens at Reading Festival this weekend, marking the next step in its growth plan
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NewsOpenings of the week
MCA rounds up the latest opening news, featuring a third QSR style site from PizzaExpress, John Lewis’ new Platter concept and Canadian sports brasserie LaCage’s debut UK opening