XP Factory has reported interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2023, with revenue of £18.7m, up 130% on H1 2022.

The experiential operator of the Escape Hunt and Boom Battle Bar brands further reported gross profit up 128% to £11.7m and adjusted EBITDA up 120% to £2.4m.

XP Factory achieved double-digit like-for-like sales growth across both brands, with Boom Battle Bar up 19.6% and Escape Hunt up 20.4%.

The increase in revenue demonstrated the significant growth in scale, with owner-operated site revenue increasing 41% to £6.1m for Escape Hunt and 416% to £11.3m for Boom Battle Bar.

The owner-operated estate now comprises 24 Escape Hunt and 15 Boom sites, while the franchise estate comprises 23 Escape Hunt and 14 Boom sites.

Gross margin was maintained at 62.1% and cash as at 30 June 2023 was £3.7m, compared to £3.2m as at 31 December 2022.

During the period, the business acquired Boom franchise sites in Chelmsford and Ealing.

Post period end, group performance in July and August 2023 rebounded strongly after the typically quieter May and June period.

A new Escape Hunt site opened in Woking and the first international Boom site opened in Dubai. Both sites opened in July and are showing strong early performance.

Boom sites in Canterbury and Southend are scheduled to open on 29 September and 14 October respectively, with Boom consumer ratings significantly outperforming peers and the industry, according to the update.

Record pre-bookings for corporate sales provide confidence underpinning expectations for the full year.

Richard Harpham, chief executive of XP Factory, commented: “We are delighted to have delivered such transformational growth compared to the same period in 2022, driven by the aggressive rollout of Boom Battle Bar. The performance in Escape Hunt® has been outstanding and we are delighted to see the young Boom business continue to mature with ongoing improvements to its operating metrics. Performance since the end of June 2023 has been encouraging with both Boom and Escape Hunt® delivering strong like for like growth over the summer months.

“Experiential leisure has displayed robust demand despite the current economic environment and our strategy to drive profitable growth and take market share continues to progress. Whilst mindful of ongoing short-term pressures on consumers and the second half weighting of the industry, we remain optimistic for the performance of both businesses over the short and medium term and expect to report full year numbers in line with market expectations.”