Brighton Pier Group to buy mini golf operator for £10.5m

Brighton Pier Group - which changed its name from Electric Bar Group after it acquired Brighton Pier - has raised a total of around £3m before expenses through a share placing, which it will use to part-fund the proposed acquisition of mini golf operator Lethington Leisure.

The company, which is behind brands such as Dirty Blonde and Lola Lo bar, said on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Lethington, which owns and operates Paradise Island Adventure Golf, for a total consideration of £10.5m on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

Brighton Pier said Paradise Island Adventure Golf represents a profitable and high quality acquisition in line with its stated strategy of selectively acquiring leisure and entertainment assets in the UK. In the year to the end of March 2017, the group generated revenues of £3.49m, with a three-year compound annual growth rate from 2014-17 of 14.7% and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £1.21m.

Executive chairman Luke Johnson said: "It is part of The Brighton Pier Group's strategy to acquire growing experiential leisure and entertainment destinations. Paradise Island Adventure Golf operates in the growing social competition leisure sector in UK. Such facilities are known drivers of footfall as retail and leisure centres look to provide affordable entertainment for families and friends, which complement their retail and food offerings.

"We are excited by the opportunity to bring Paradise Island Adventure Golf into the group and will now turn our attention to expanding its footprint across the UK, having already identified a number of potential additional locations."

At 1220 GMT, the shares were up 1.1% to 97.55p.