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Bowling Tragic
The Sydney-based group announced yesterday it had bought two of Melbourne chain Kingpin's three bowling centres.
The group has acquired the Kingpin centre at Crown Casino along with neighbouring laser and electronic games venues. Macquarie had picked up the rights to double to 16 the number of bowling lanes at the Crown venue, under a provisional agreement Kingpin had with Crown management, Mr Shaw said.
Kingpin at the Victoria Gardens shopping centre in Richmond will also change hands under the deal with Gary Berman's Entertainment Development Group.
The purchase marks a broadening focus for the Macquarie Leisure's bowling arm, chief executive Greg Shaw said.
The company early last year paid $67.4 million for the 42-centre AMF bowling chain, and another $8.5 million for its smaller counterpart BowlAustralia.
But those centres "were all predominantly suburban sites" and lacked the premium profile and corporate appeal of the contemporary Kingpin centres, Mr Shaw said.
"So for us, Kingpin was a good strategic fit," he said.
"Kinpin is well established and rather than us start from scratch or try to create a new brand, this was a good opportunity to hit the premium market running."
The corporate market accounted for just 1-2 per cent of AMF business, compared with about 40 per cent at Kingpin, he said.
The acquisition did not include the Melbourne Central Kingpin, which is licensed to use the brand but involved investors other than Mr Berman, Mr Shaw said.
But he signalled the trust would be interested in later acquiring the outlet.
MACQUARIE's leisure investment arm will open a s****y tenpin bowling venue and bar at Darling Harbour to target the after-work and corporate-function market.
Macquarie Leisure Trust hopes the Kingpin centre will be open by early next year, expanding the Melbourne-based business it bought yesterday for $10.8 million.
"We see this as pretty strategic for us," Macquarie Leisure Trust CEO Greg Shaw said yesterday.
It gives MLT a premium brand and a way of tapping into the potential of corporate functions – a market that it cannot reach with its existing network of suburban AMF alleys.
"Bowling is not well represented in the CBD or CBD fringe," Mr Shaw said.
Sydney was a big enough market to support at least one more Kingpin, he added. So too, Melbourne.
MLT paid four to five times earnings for Kingpin – a low price compared to the multiples of most transactions.
Next month MLT's second Sydney AMF "concept centre" will open in Campbelltown. The first, at Blacktown, increased revenue by 50 per cent following its revamp, which attracted more 18-35 year olds.
"It's only recently opened so it's developing, but it's clearly in a great location," he told BusinessDaily.
The group has acquired the Kingpin centre at Crown Casino along with neighbouring laser and electronic games venues. Macquarie had picked up the rights to double to 16 the number of bowling lanes at the Crown venue, under a provisional agreement Kingpin had with Crown management, Mr Shaw said.
Kingpin at the Victoria Gardens shopping centre in Richmond will also change hands under the deal with Gary Berman's Entertainment Development Group.
The purchase marks a broadening focus for the Macquarie Leisure's bowling arm, chief executive Greg Shaw said.
The company early last year paid $67.4 million for the 42-centre AMF bowling chain, and another $8.5 million for its smaller counterpart BowlAustralia.
But those centres "were all predominantly suburban sites" and lacked the premium profile and corporate appeal of the contemporary Kingpin centres, Mr Shaw said.
"So for us, Kingpin was a good strategic fit," he said.
"Kinpin is well established and rather than us start from scratch or try to create a new brand, this was a good opportunity to hit the premium market running."
The corporate market accounted for just 1-2 per cent of AMF business, compared with about 40 per cent at Kingpin, he said.
The acquisition did not include the Melbourne Central Kingpin, which is licensed to use the brand but involved investors other than Mr Berman, Mr Shaw said.
But he signalled the trust would be interested in later acquiring the outlet.
MACQUARIE's leisure investment arm will open a s****y tenpin bowling venue and bar at Darling Harbour to target the after-work and corporate-function market.
Macquarie Leisure Trust hopes the Kingpin centre will be open by early next year, expanding the Melbourne-based business it bought yesterday for $10.8 million.
"We see this as pretty strategic for us," Macquarie Leisure Trust CEO Greg Shaw said yesterday.
It gives MLT a premium brand and a way of tapping into the potential of corporate functions – a market that it cannot reach with its existing network of suburban AMF alleys.
"Bowling is not well represented in the CBD or CBD fringe," Mr Shaw said.
Sydney was a big enough market to support at least one more Kingpin, he added. So too, Melbourne.
MLT paid four to five times earnings for Kingpin – a low price compared to the multiples of most transactions.
Next month MLT's second Sydney AMF "concept centre" will open in Campbelltown. The first, at Blacktown, increased revenue by 50 per cent following its revamp, which attracted more 18-35 year olds.
"It's only recently opened so it's developing, but it's clearly in a great location," he told BusinessDaily.
