Exclusive – State of Play Hospitality secures new £15m debt facility, increasingly confident 50-plus site opportunity exists in the US: State of Play Hospitality, the Toby Harris-led international experiential leisure operator, has secured a new £15m debt facility to aid its further expansion, as it told Propel it was “increasingly confident” that a 50-plus site opportunity exists in the US for darts concept Flight Club. With a continued focus on expanding Flight Club in North America (operated under licence), State of Play will open new venues in Washington DC, Philadelphia and St Louis before the end of next month to take its global estate to 14 venues (including nine Flight Clubs). In late 2025, State of Play will also be opening a flagship Flight Club in New York. The group recently completed a new £15m debt facility from Santander, its existing lender, to support its growth plans over the next two years. Harris told Propel the company is either in legals, or very close to moving into legals, on seven more sites for Flight Club in the US, the majority in what he described as “top tier US locations”. He said: “These will open between the back end of 2025 and the end of 2026. Our US Flight Club estate will be at 16 by the end of 2026. We’ve got some very interesting proof points coming up over the next couple of years. The site in St Louis, which is a smaller site in what I would describe as being on the border of a tier two and tier three location, will be very interesting. We’ve got a fantastic deal and low capex as a result of it previously being a fitted out restaurant. I think if we can make Flight Club work in those second and the third-tier locations then you’re talking (about the opportunity in the US) being well north of 50 sites, and we’re increasingly confident that that sort of opportunity exists. We are seeking primarily to put our capital and our time into the huge runway of growth that we have in the US. We have to choose to place our chips in the market, which is likely to give all stakeholders in the group the best prospects of a good return, and that is currently the US.” It comes as the business, which also operates the Hijingo and Bounce concepts in the UK, reported group revenue increased 33% to $59m (£47.5m) in the 12 months to March 2024, with site level Ebitda up by 44%. Adjusted group Ebitda increased by 129% to $2m, with the group investing in its US central team to support the next phase of growth. Harris described it as “another year of significant progress” and that the business had achieved “a record-breaking festive period”. In terms of its performance in the UK during 2024, Harris said it had been a challenging 12 months. He said: “The summer was particularly soft, but trade strengthened in the autumn. We had a really good December, and that is absolutely underpinned by robust corporate appetite.” 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.

Exclusive – Shereen Ritchie steps down as CEO of Buns from Home: Shereen Ritchie is stepping down as chief executive of Buns from Home, the independent London bakery brand, after nearly two years in the role, Propel has learned. Ritchie, previously managing director at Leon, will be passing the baton back to the company’s founder, Barney Goff, who started buns from home in his mother’s kitchen during the first covid lockdown before opening the brand’s first store in Notting Hill in January 2021. He will now resume the chief executive role and continue “driving the company’s roll out plans”. Ritchie joined the brand in May 2023 as chief operating officer, having spent four years as managing director with natural fast-food brand, Leon, where she oversaw two record-breaking years before covid hit. She then spent a year and a half at Sprout, the Dublin-based organic salad and farm business. She was promoted to chief executive of Buns from Home at the start of 2024. Under Ritchie’s leadership, the business expanded from eight sites to 21 across London, earning a “devoted, cult-like following along the way”. Ritchie, who remains a shareholder in the business, said: “The last few years have been an incredible whirlwind of growth and achievement, and this remarkable brand is now well-positioned for global success. I’m deeply grateful to my amazing team for their dedication, creativity and passion in delivering the ‘buns magic’ to our ever-growing customer base. They are all superstars. Passing the reins back to Barney feels like a full-circle moment. We have a strong pipeline of openings for 2025 and I’m excited to watch buns from home thrive in its next chapter.”