Wed 11th Dec 2024 - Immersive Gamebox in administration Immersive Gamebox in administration: The parent company of Immersive Gamebox, which operates the Electric Gamebox concept, has fallen into administration. Julie Palmer and Andrew Hook, of Begbies Traynor, were appointed as joint administrators of Immersive Group Gaming, trading as Immersive Gamebox, on 10 December and are running the business as a going concern while they seek a buyer. First launched in 2019, Immersive Gamebox was co-founded by Will Dean, its chief executive, and David Spindler, who serves as the company’s chief financial officer. Dean was the founder and former chief executive of endurance event Tough Mudder. The gaming platform has since expanded to 32 locations across Europe and the US, including London, New York and Berlin. The company operates eight sites in the UK, four with Gravity Max, plus stand-alone sites in Lakeside in Essex, the Arndale Centre in Manchester, and in London’s Southbank and Shoreditch. The technology enables teams of up to six players to compete in interactive arcade games using virtual reality across its venues. The joint administrators said: “As it has been scaling up, in the growth stage of its development, it has significant potential to become the leading global social gaming technology platform. Immersive Gamebox currently has eight major international studio content partners, with multiple major intellectual property studios and circa 20 game titles, including Squid Games, Angry Birds and Black Mirror Careers. The company has a strong pipeline for future venues and has a robust content pipeline, built by its in-house game studio under licensing arrangements with top tier studios as well as proprietary and third-party developer creations. The administration provides protection for the company, as it seeks a buyer/financial backing to support its next phase of growth.” The company previously announced plans to open 250 locations across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The group said it had also inked nearly £80m worth of franchise deals. Immersive Gamebox reported that its revenue increased 424% to a record £9,175,928 for the year ending 31 March 2023 compared with £2,647,833 the previous year. Pre-tax losses rose to £6,337,839 from £4,592,864 the year before. In the report accompanying the accounts, the directors stated: “The turnover increase was driven by increasing the number of stores and increasing average revenue per group by increasing prices and non-ticket revenue. Gross margin has expanded to 91%, with a larger number of stores increasing operational efficiency.” The company, which employs around 100 staff, did not receive any government grants (2022: £165,900). No dividend was paid. This was the first year the company filed full accounts. At the time, the company operated six sites in the UK, four in the US and one in each of Germany and Australia. A new report has been produced by Propel on the fast-growing experiential leisure sector. The report profiles the current shape of the experiential leisure market – including brands, estate size, trading type and geographical location and future trends. It provides a detailed list of UK experiential leisure companies including key staff and Companies House information. The report includes more than 180 companies, 3,500 sites and a 35,000-word report. The report is available to Premium Club members. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.