Hollywood Bowl Group
 | |
 Exterior of a Hollywood Bowl location in Huntington, North Yorkshire. | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| LSE: BOWL | |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Founder | US company AMF Bowling |
| Headquarters | , |
| Key people | Darren Shapland (Chairman) Stephen Burns (CEO) |
| Revenue |  £250.7 million (2025)[1] |
 £59.4 million (2025)[1] | |
| £34.6 million (2025)[1] | |
| Website | hollywoodbowlgroup |
Hollywood Bowl Group plc (HBG) is a British leisure and family entertainment company. The company is the corporate successor to the British operations of AMF Bowling, which had originally been acquired by shareholders of Bourne Leisure in 2004, and acquired the Hollywood Lanes chain in 2010.
The company operates bowling alleys in the United Kingdom and Canada under the Hollywood Bowl and Splitsville brands respectively; all locations operate tenpin bowling alongside amenities such as licensed lounges and arcades, while three of the Canadian centres also offer five-pin bowling. It also operates miniature golf centres in the UK under the "Puttstars" brand.
HBG is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
[edit]Foundation as 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 April 2015, TOBC announced its intention to purchase Bowlplex, subject to approval by the Competition and Markets Authority. Out of the Bowlplex sites, ten were retained by the company and rebranded as Hollywood Bowl, while six Bowlplex sites in Bristol, Camberley, Castleford, Dudley, Glasgow, and Nantgarw were sold to Tenpin Ltd for competition reasons.[5]
Hollywood Bowl Group
[edit]In 2015, TOBC purchased rival Bowlplex.[5] After its purchase of Bowlplex, TOBC rebranded as Hollywood Bowl Group (HBG), and began to unify all of its centres under the Hollywood Bowl banner. The last AMF-branded centre in Worthing was rebranded as Hollywood Bowl in 2023 after a £200,000 renovation.[6][7][8]
In 2022, HBG expanded into the Canadian market by acquiring Teaquinn Holdings for £21 million (CA$34 million); the acquisition included five Splitsville bowling alleys and equipment distributor Striker Bowling Solutions.[9][10] Following the acquisition, HBG retained Pat Haggerty as the president of its Canadian operations, and began to pursue further acquisitions and the construction of new centres under the Splitsville branding. By 2025 the chain had expanded to 15 locations across the country.[11][12]
Brands
[edit]Hollywood Bowl
[edit]Hollywood Bowl serves as the company's flagship banner in the United Kingdom; all of their bowling centres are equipped with at least 14 lanes, a licensed bar, a diner and an amusements zone with a variety of arcade games.[13]
Puttstars
[edit]Hollywood Bowl Group opened its first minigolf centre at The Springs Retail Park, Leeds in March 2020.[14]
Splitsville
[edit]Splitsville is the brand name that is used for the company's Canadian bowling centre operations; similarly to Hollywood Bowl, it is structured as a family entertainment centre concept, featuring bowling (including dedicated "VIP" lanes), a lounge and bar, and arcade and redemption games.[11][12]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Annual Results 2025" (PDF). Hollywood Bowl Group. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
- 1 2 "Company Info: The Original Bowling Company". Retrieved 9 February 2014.
- ↑ "About The Original Bowling Company Limited". Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ↑ "Ten Pin Bowling Group Bought for £91M". Insider Media Ltd. 8 September 2014.
- 1 2 "The Original Bowling Company takeover of Bowlplex wins CMA approval". Leisure Opportunities. 7 December 2015.
- ↑ "U.K.'s Bowlplex Chain to Be Acquired by TOBC". Bowlers Journal. 22 April 2015.
- ↑ "The Original Bowling Company strikes to take over Bowlplex". 22 April 2015.
- ↑ "Popular Worthing bowling alley undergoes £200k rebranding including new VIP lanes". Sussex Live. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ↑ "Hollywood Bowl strikes £21m deal for Canadian lanes". The Times. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- ↑ "Hollywood Bowl buys Canadian brands in international expansion move". Independent.co.uk. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- 1 2 Patterson, Craig (5 May 2026). "Splitsville Bowl Expands Across Canada with New Centres". Retail Insider. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- 1 2 Toneguzzi, Mario (4 December 2024). "Splitsville expands entertainment venues across Canada". Retail Insider. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- ↑ "New 14-lane Hollywood Bowl will arrive in style at intu Watford!". Vibe 107.6. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ↑ "Puttstars - New £2.5m indoor mini golf experience to open in Leeds". Yorkshire Evening Post. 29 July 2020.
External links
[edit]- Group website
- Commercial websites: