Escape Hunt set to open new site in Birmingham
AN ‘escape game’ business is to open a new branch in Birmingham. Asia-based Escape Hunt plans to open in the city as part of a wider bid to launch eight new sites by the end of 2017.
The expansion plan follows the group’s £12 million admission to the London Stock Exchange this month, the first company of its kind to do so.
Escape games lock participants in a room for a set time period and they must solve a series of clues in order to leave before the clock runs out.
Escape Hunt said its games typically required players to solve a crime story or mystery which had been tailored to the location of the site within 60 minutes.
The first branch was opened in 2013 in Bangkok and it has now become a franchised global network of 38 branches operating 214 rooms across 20 countries – but it currently has none in the UK.
Chief executive Richard Harpham said: “Birmingham continues to thrive as a business centre and as one of the UK’s premier retail destinations.
“Birmingham’s bustling city centre makes it a perfect place for us to launch one of our first sites and we are confident that our immersive entertainment offer will be well-suited to the city’s families, students and office workers.
“We look forward to expanding our owner-operated network right across the UK and, as part of that, we are confident that locations such as Birmingham will have a huge part to play as we continue to grow.”
Escape games are a growing sector in the leisure market and Birmingham has seen a series of new openings in recent years.
Escape Live, which was crowned best start-up at the Birmingham Post Business Award in 2015, and ClueHQ are both based in the city’s Jewellery Quarter.
Escape Time recently opened Sutton Coldfield and Keyhunter based near the town centre.
Yorkshire-based Great Escape has also been linked with a move to the city centre but plans are currently on hold. in is