Hollywood Bowl runs ten-pin bowling centres, 77 in the UK and 16 in Canada at the half-year, and is the largest branded operator in both countries. Revenue has risen every year to a record £261.6m in FY26, but visits per centre have fallen and profit has grown more slowly than sales. The shares ended the period near where they started in 2023.
Bowling, arcades and burgers for families on a budget
The company runs mostly out-of-town bowling centres that also sell food, drink and arcade games. Management pitches them as affordable, multi-generational leisure. A family of four can bowl at peak times for £26 in the UK and CA$32 in Canada. The company says it is the cheapest branded operator.
Money comes from bowling, from amusements (the second-largest category, with machines from Bandai Namco) and from food and drink. In the UK, UK labour costs are under 20% of revenue and over 70% of revenue is not exposed to cost-of-goods inflation. The company has hedged 76% of its electricity to the end of FY29. In Canada it also owns Striker, which sells and installs bowling equipment. Canada was 16% of Group revenue in H1 FY26, up from 9% in FY22. 27 May 2026 16 Dec 2025 17 Dec 2024
Buying Canada and setting a 130-centre goal
In May 2022 the company bought a Canadian bowling business, Splitsville, through the Teaquinn acquisition. It then grew it from 5 to 15 centres by March 2025 through purchases, new builds and refurbishments. Revenue and EBITDA there more than tripled.
FY23 revenue reached £215m, and the board lifted the ordinary dividend payout to 55% of adjusted profit after tax. In December 2023 it set out a goal of 130+ centres in the UK and Canada by 2035. In October 2023 it had said Canada could reach 30 sites over ten years. 18 Dec 2023 19 Oct 2023 29 May 2025 3 Jun 2024
Record sales, thinner profits, falling cash
FY24 and FY25 brought a record £50m investment year, then record openings: five UK sites and two Canadian sites in FY25. Revenue rose to £230m and then £251m. Profit before tax fell in FY24 (down 5.2%, after a £5.3m mini-golf impairment) and adjusted profit before tax fell again in FY25 (down 7.5%).
UK like-for-like game volumes fell 7.5% in FY25. The company blamed unseasonal weather, the hot summer and weak consumer confidence. Spend per game rose 9.8%, and that carried revenue. Net cash fell from £52.5m at FY23 to £15.2m at FY25 as capital spending and buybacks continued. The company spent about £35m on dividends and buybacks in FY25.
The shares peaked at 341.5p in April 2024. They fell to 246p by July 2025. 17 Dec 2024 16 Dec 2025 29 May 2025 18 Feb 2025 8 Apr 2025 7 Jul 2025
“The prolonged period of unprecedented dry and warm weather from March to May, has had a short-term impact on trading.” 29 May 2025
New finance and Canada leaders, faster Canada plan
In November 2025 CFO Laurence Keen, 12 years in the role, moved to run Canada. Antony Smith became CFO in February 2026. In September 2026 UK managing director Darryl Lewis was named Canada CEO from 1 November 2026, when Keen's role ends.
H1 FY26 revenue rose 9.5% to £141.5m and adjusted EBITDA after rent rose 8.9% to £42.2m. Reported profit after tax fell 5.3%, because of a £2.8m impairment on an underperforming centre and a Canadian earn-out cost. In May 2026 the company brought forward its Canada target. A £5m buyback for the second half followed.
The October 2026 trading update gave full-year revenue of £261.6m, up 4.3%, against 9.5% in the first half. Full-year like-for-like revenue fell 1.0%, against +2.3% in H1. Net cash was £13.5m. 20 Nov 2025 29 Sep 2026 27 May 2026 1 Jul 2026 7 Oct 2026
Growth bought with openings and price, not footfall
Revenue growth has come from new centres and higher spend per customer, not from more visits. Like-for-like revenue was 0.2% in FY24, 0.6% in FY25 and -1.0% in FY26. UK game volumes fell in FY25 and H1 FY25 even as competitive socialising venues (bars with games) opened nearby.
Profit has not tracked sales. Adjusted profit before tax fell in FY24 and FY25. Rising staff and head-office costs, and impairments on mini-golf and one weak centre, took part of the gain. The company has said weather, a hot summer and snowstorms in Canada can move a half-year. 17 Dec 2024 16 Dec 2025 27 May 2026 7 Oct 2026
Same chief executive, new faces around him
Stephen Burns is CEO. Peter Boddy retired as chair after ten years and Darren Shapland took over in December 2024. In September 2026 Shapland was also named chair of A.G. Barr. Simon Dodd joins as a non-executive director on 1 November 2026. Senior Independent Director Rachel Addison took two other non-executive roles in 2026.
On targets the record is mixed. The company delivered its record five UK openings in FY25 and said results were in line with expectations at each year-end. Its 2035 goal has since been pulled forward. Cash has fallen as it kept returning money to shareholders. Executives sold shares after exercising options in February 2026, and non-executive director Ivan Schofield and his spouse sold about 90,000 shares in May 2026. 7 Oct 2024 20 Nov 2025 29 Sep 2026 25 Sep 2026 1 Sep 2026 9 Feb 2026 1 Jun 2026
95 centres, £13.5m cash, flat visits
At the end of FY26 the estate has 95 centres after four openings in the year. UK revenue was £219.9m and Canada £41.7m. Closing net cash was £13.5m, and the company has a £25m undrawn credit facility. A £5m buyback runs to 30 September 2026.
The shares closed October 2026 at 251.5p. They rose to 307.5p after the interim results in May and fell back. Aberdeen cut its stake from nearly 10% to 5% in early 2026. 7 Oct 2026 1 Jul 2026 27 May 2026
Eight openings in FY27 and tighter targets
The company expects FY26 adjusted profit before tax growth in line with expectations. A pipeline of eight centres in the UK and Canada will lift the estate to 103 in FY27. UK refurbishments resume in FY27, after none planned for FY26.
The targets have moved. Canada's goal was 30 sites over ten years (October 2023), then 35 by 2035 (December 2025), and in May 2026 became 35 by 2032. The Group goal of 130 centres, first stated as 130+ by 2035 in December 2023, is now 130 by 2033 (October 2026). The UK goal stays at 95 by 2035. The company has not said how it will fund faster growth with cash falling.
Management's May 2026 wording: Targeting 35 centres in Canada by 2032 - acceleration on original 2035 target. 7 Oct 2026 27 May 2026 16 Dec 2025 19 Oct 2023 18 Dec 2023
“Targeting 35 centres in Canada by 2032 - acceleration on original 2035 target” 27 May 2026
Written by AI from Hollywood Bowl Group's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources