Tenpin delivers 3.3pc rise in bowling revenue
Bowling centres group Ten Entertainment enjoyed a 3.3 per cent rise in turnover in the six months to July 2.
The group's 51 Tenpin centres include Dudley, Stafford, Telford and Walsall.
Total sales were up from £63.2 million in the first half of 2022 to £65.3m.
Group adjusted pre-tax profit increased slightly from £15.7m to £15.8m.
Increased visitor numbers were helped by bowling prices still being frozen at 2019 levels to maintain an attractive proposition.
There have been three new openings in 2023 at Crewe,Milton Keynes and Dundee with at least one more new centre still to open this year and a strong pipeline for 2024.
More than £6m has been invested in seven refurbishments, including at Telford and Stafford which is due to unveil its new look next month, and core bowling product.
More than 6.5 million bowling games were played in the six months at the group's centres.
The group has announced an interim dividend of 3.5p per share to be paid in October, an increase of 16.7 per cent compared to last year
Year to date like-for-like sales to September 10 were up by 4.7 per cent which is at the upper range of Ten's full year expectations.
Chief executive Graham Blackwell said: "We have delivered like-for-like sales growth in every reporting period since we reopened in May 2021 and have converted that into growing profitability. The fact that we can continue to deliver these results is testament to the quality of our product offering and the hard work of our teams throughout the UK.
"Our business continues to increase in scale and is in better shape than ever. We had already achieved 2019's full year sales by August with acceleration of like-for-like sales over the summer and our profit for the first half of this year is greater than our total 2019 full year profit.
"We will continue to focus on delivering value for money for our customers, with best-in-class bowling and entertainment across each of our 51 bowling centres."