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Hollywood Bowl Group PLC
Company typePublic company
LSE: BOWL
IndustryEntertainment
Founded1960
HeadquartersHemel Hempstead, United Kingdom
Key people
Peter Boddy, (Chairman)
Stephen Burns, (CEO)
RevenueIncrease £214.8 million (2023)[1]
Increase £136.6 million (2023)[1]
Decrease £34.2 million (2023)[1]
Websitehollywoodbowlgroup.com

The Hollywood Bowl Group is a company that runs the Hollywood Bowl branded multi lane ten-pin bowling and Puttstars brand minigolf centres in the UK and Splitsville bowling in Canada. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

The image shows what a score screen looks like at one of Hollywood Bowl's locations.
An example of the score screen at Hollywood Bowl in Yeovil

History[edit]

AMF Bowling UK[edit]

The United States company AMF Bowling opened its first centre in the United Kingdom in Stamford Hill, North London on 20 January 1960. Between 1967 and 1970, AMF Bowling UK acquired its first 15 centres. After Goldman Sachs purchased AMF Bowling in 1996, the number of centres owned and operated by AMF Bowling in the UK rose in 1997 from 15 to 37. The company then embarked on a program to refurbish the acquired centres.[2]

In 2004 certain shareholders of the British leisure conglomerate, Bourne Leisure, acquired the AMF-branded centres in the UK. AMF Bowling UK then embarked on another programme of refurbishment and since 2007 had opened five new centres in the UK.[2]

The Original Bowling Company[edit]

In August 2010, AMF Bowling UK acquired the Hollywood Bowl business from Mitchells & Butlers PLC and combined the companies into The Original Bowling Company Ltd (TOBC), UK’s largest bowling centre operator. TOBC sold centres to 1st Bowl (now known as MFA Bowl) as part of the merger.[3]

In September 2014, Electra Private Equity acquired TOBC for £91 million.[4] In 2015, TOBC purchased rival Bowlplex.[5] TOBC itself then rebranded as Hollywood Bowl Group (HBG). After purchase of Bowlplex, the company phased out the Bowlplex and AMF branded centres and rebranded them (as the already its biggest brand of its three) Hollywood Bowl.[6][7]

The pandemic and new ventures[edit]

On 15 August 2020, the company, along with other bowling centres and casinos, reopened all its centres after over four and a half months of not being able to operate. Two planned Puttstars opened for the first time as their original opening dates were pushed back due to lockdown. Rules to protect staff and customers were put in place to keep people inside of the centres from contracting COVID-19.[8]

In 2022, the company bought the Canadian Splitsville brand to expand out of the UK, with further openings and acquisitions to expand the Splitsville brand.[9]

Brands[edit]

Hollywood Bowl[edit]

A typical visit to the brand's facilities includes bowling, food, drink, amusements and pool. All of their bowling centres are equipped with at least 14 lanes, a licensed bar, Hollywood Diner and an amusements zone with a variety of games.[10]

AMF UK[edit]

AMF Bowling was a brand that was owned by a USA counterpart which was bought by the group and has been phased out, the Worthing centre was the last uk AMF branded site and underwent a £200,000 makeover in early 2023.[11]

Bowlplex[edit]

In April 2015, the Original Bowling Company announced its intention to purchase Bowlplex, subject to approval by the Competition and Markets Authority. By late 2015, 10 Bowlplex units were acquired by the company with most of the locations being rebranded under the "Hollywood Bowl" name. With competition concerns, six Bowlplex sites were sold to Tenpin Ltd in Bristol, Camberley, Castleford, Dudley, Glasgow and Nantgarw.[5]

Puttstars[edit]

Hollywood Bowl Group opened its first minigolf centre at The Springs Retail Park, Leeds in March 2020.[12]

Splitsville[edit]

Splitsville is a brand name that is used for the company's Canadian operations.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Annual Report 2023" (PDF). Hollywood Bowl Group. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Company Info: The Original Bowling Company". Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  3. ^ "About The Original Bowling Company Limited". Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Ten Pin Bowling Group Bought for £91M". Insider Media Ltd. 8 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b "The Original Bowling Company takeover of Bowlplex wins CMA approval". Leisure Opportunities. 7 December 2015.
  6. ^ "U.K.'s Bowlplex Chain to Be Acquired by TOBC". Bowlers Journal. 22 April 2015.
  7. ^ "The Original Bowling Company strikes to take over Bowlplex". 22 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Coronavirus: How will bowling alleys and casinos change after lockdown?". BBC News. 29 July 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Hollywood Bowl buys Canadian brands in international expansion move". Independent.co.uk. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  10. ^ "New 14-lane Hollywood Bowl will arrive in style at intu Watford!". Vibe 107.6. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Popular Worthing bowling alley undergoes £200k rebranding including new VIP lanes". Sussex Live. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Puttstars - New £2.5m indoor mini golf experience to open in Leeds". Yorkshire Evening Post. 29 July 2020.

External links[edit]

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Bowl_Group

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