Christian Rose, the managing director of All Star Lanes, has told MCA the group’s next two sites are likely to be outside of London.
After a year of realigning the business, Rose said he was now focussed on expansion with a target of growing the currently five-strong estate to between 15 and 20 sites in the next three years.
He said while there was still scope for expansion in London, where he hopes to open a further four sites, there were probably more opportunities nationwide.
He said: “We’re looking at major cities with a fairly high disposable income. I’ve got two almost at heads of terms – both out of London – and I have one site in London which may or may not come to fruition.
“We’ve got shareholder appetite for growth but where I’m hamstrung is finding the right sites. I won’t compromise the location and environment. We need ideally a minimum of 15,000 sq ft. That brings its own challenges and means we’re unlikely to get high street locations. But that works fine for us because we are predominantly a destination.”
In terms of London expansion, Rose said: “We can see the scope another four sites in London. We don’t have anything south of the river yet so somewhere like Battersea would be great. We’re keen to go out west and up to Islington. Canary Wharf is also a key target for us.”
He said the company had two key drivers of growth – consumers and business to business, with a strong package for corporate events now well established.
He said he had strengthened the team ahead of expansion and had put in a lot of work on the technical side, with online reservation due to go live at the start of next month.
He said: “What I can say, going forward, is that we will not be cookie cutter. We already have five very different sites in different environments and different customer needs. We draw on the local environment in terms of style. The menus will be predominantly the same and our DNA will of course run through every site but each one will be different.
“I always say that we are not in the business of bowling, we are not in the business of selling food and drink, we are in the business of creating great memories.
“Quite a few landlords have this kneejerk reaction to bowling, that it’s cheap and nasty. But when they see our operation they understand it’s something different entirely. “
