Venue EBITDA rose to £22m and group EBITDA to £13m. On a like for like basis, sales across venues open in both years were down 1%. The group recorded a statutory loss after tax of £8m, reflecting higher administrative and finance costs.
Earlier this month, Red Engine secured an increased lending facility of £10m, bringing the total to £70m.
Growth was driven by a busy opening programme. In 2024 the company opened Electric Shuffle in Manchester and New York, alongside Flight Club in Liverpool and Oxford.
Franchising
Franchise partners launched Flight Club in Sydney and Melbourne. The momentum continued into early 2025 with State of Play opening Flight Clubs in Washington DC and St Louis, with Philadelphia to follow.
The group opened Electric Shuffle Chicago in May and King’s Cross in June, and Flight Club Newcastle is set to open next month (November). Franchise partner NightOwl added a second Sydney site.
Several sites delivered record trading. Electric Shuffle New York set a company weekly sales record above £320k. Flight Club Oxford, Flight Club Liverpool and Electric Shuffle Manchester each exceeded £100k weekly sales.
2023 openings Flight Club Glasgow and Edinburgh achieved like for like growth above 30%. Established London venues at Shoreditch, Victoria and Bloomsbury also posted new weekly records.
Tech innovation
Operational changes focused on guest experience and efficiency. The group introduced Single Player Mode and Party Mode at Electric Shuffle, refreshed interiors at key sites and rolled out faster QR based player entry.
Procurement, stock and allergen data moved onto Fourth Purchasing. A new global software deployment system, Orion, was launched to monitor venue technology performance.
The estate reached 21 owned and trading venues and 10 international franchise locations at year end. Total headcount rose to 1,023, with team engagement reported at 86%.
Red Engine said a strong festive period closed out 2024 and set the business up for continued growth.
With the 2025 pipeline of new Flight Club and Electric Shuffle sites largely delivered, the group is now focused on its 2026 expansion programme across the UK, US and Australia.
