Westbrooke Associates Reviews Boom Battle Bar Buyback as We Do Play Targets 50 UK Venues

Some business stories have a way of coming full circle and Boom Battle Bar has done exactly that by returning to the entrepreneurs who first brought the brand to life.

We Do Play has reacquired Boom Battle Bar from XP Factory PLC, with the deal completing on 28 September 2026 for a total consideration of up to £11 million. The purchaser, F.O Twenty-Four Ltd, is backed by Frasers Group PLC and includes Boom Battle Bar’s original founders.

We Do Play has already set out plans for Boom Battle Bar, which currently operates 29 UK venues. The group intends to invest in new technology, games and experiences across the estate, restart franchise sales and expand into additional towns and cities. Its target is to grow the brand to at least 50 UK venues by 2030.

As official agents for the Rumble Rooms opportunity through Primal Playground Ltd, Westbrooke Associates is already connected to the wider We Do Play portfolio, giving the latest acquisition a direct link to its current investor offering.

Westbrooke Associates Looks at the Founders Behind Boom Battle Bar and Rumble Rooms

Richard Beese, founder and CEO of We Do Play, took an unconventional route into the leisure industry. A former City stockbroker, he moved into experiential leisure and became involved in the growth of Flip Out, the indoor adventure park business, which expanded rapidly across the UK.

Beese later joined forces with fellow entrepreneur David White to create Boom Battle Bar in 2020. The concept combined activities including augmented reality darts, axe throwing, crazy golf and shuffleboard with food, cocktails and a lively social environment.

Together, Beese and White built Boom Battle Bar into a major name in the UK leisure market before selling the business for around £18 million in November 2021. After the expiry of a competitive restriction period at the end of 2024, they returned to the sector with a new concept, Rumble Rooms.

Richard Beese described welcoming the brand home as a “very special full-circle moment” and said the team was proud to take responsibility for its next chapter.

Frasers Group Adds Another Dimension

Frasers Group is one of the UK’s best-known retail groups, with brands and interests spanning Sports Direct, Flannels, Evans Cycles and other major consumer businesses. Its roots lie in the sports retail business built by Mike Ashley, but the group has increasingly expanded into new areas of the consumer economy. Today, the group employs more than 30,000 people, operates more than 1,500 UK stores and has a presence in more than 20 countries.

In August 2025, Frasers Group acquired a minority stake in We Do Play, marking its first move into the UK leisure activity market. At the time, Frasers said the partnership complemented its strategy of creating a broader consumer ecosystem. Plans announced alongside the investment included the rollout of more than 40 Activate venues across the UK.

The Boom Battle Bar acquisition extends Frasers Group’s move into leisure, adding an established national brand to its growing leisure interests.

Rumble Rooms and the Wider We Do Play Portfolio

We Do Play’s portfolio now reaches across different age groups, formats and leisure occasions. Alongside Boom Battle Bar, its brands include Flip Out, Activate, Laser Quest and Rumble Rooms, encompassing indoor adventure, interactive gaming, laser tag and games-led social entertainment.

Rumble Rooms is a competitive socialising brand and has awarded a development buildout to Primal Playground Ltd as a Franchisee, to acquire, build and operate the brand throughout the UK. Rumble Rooms sits within the We Do Play portfolio of companies, a global leisure and hospitality group owned by MFT Capital Ltd.

The first Rumble Rooms venue opened in Milton Keynes in December 2024, providing an operational base for the planned multi-site UK rollout through Primal Playground Ltd.

Westbrooke Associates Sees Continued Activity in Experience-Led Leisure

The Boom Battle Bar buyback arrives at a time when the UK leisure market continues to change. Westbrooke Associates’ Competitive Socialising Investment Insight points to approximately 40% growth in UK competitive socialising venues since 2018, alongside increasing interest from landlords and institutional operators in formats that bring people together around activities rather than relying solely on traditional drinking occasions.

Boom Battle Bar itself recorded underlying revenue growth of 2% to £42.8 million for the year ended 29 March 2026. Like-for-like sales fell 8%, but this compared with a 9% decline across the wider competitive socialising market.

Richard Beese has pointed to continued demand for experience-led leisure, arguing that the next phase of the sector will be shaped by innovation, technology and well-invested venues in towns and cities across the country.

A Growing Leisure Story for Westbrooke Associates Investors

The Boom Battle Bar acquisition also gives Westbrooke Associates investors further insight into how the sector is developing. Moreover, it is the combination of founder experience, institutional backing and continued expansion that makes this a development worth watching.

Qualifying investors can contact Westbrooke Associates to request further information and the current investor documentation.