Essenden, the ten pin bowling operator, is considering moves to expand by buying rival bowling operators. Chief executive Nick Basing told M&C Report that “at least 10” of its 37 existing sites could be converted to the new Entertainment Centre concept, which is to be trialled at an unnamed location in west London in the second half of the year. The company returned to profit in 2010, with profit before tax of £93,000 for the 53 weeks to 2 January, after reporting a loss of £11.9m for the same period in the previous year. This came after making £4m of annualised savings in the period. “We have done the first stage of trying to clear up the company that we inherited around 18 months ago. We think the company at it’s core is in better order,” said Basing, who explained plans for the “next stage” for the company. “We are going to be trialing this new concept in west London in one existing unit. If that works successfully we could go to a number of other units, at least 10, and retro-fit that concept. “The market is very fragmented and there may be opportunities for us us to aquire other sites or small chains and convert them to the new generation concept. “It won’t necessarily see us opening new sites but converting existing [venues] and aquiring more traditional ten pin bowling cenrtres and converting them to what could be the next generation.” But he stressed that it would be based on the performance of the first site, which is set to incorporate features such as an upgraded children’s play area, a karaoke offer called Sing Dizzy and the Sector 7 lazer game. The success of the trial will be assessed on three things, Basing said: whether it results in more visits, new customers and increased customer spending. Basing added: “We don’t envisage there’s very much more to come out of the cost savings plan this year.” Essenden described 2010 as a “difficult” trading period. Its sales slipped from £58.1m to £56.6m, with editda down from £5.1m to £4m over the 53 weeks. Basing said the company is seeing fewer group bookings, with consumers acting “cautiously” while there’s “a level of uncertainty” about the economy.