What The Escapade Group does

The Escapade Group is a UK-based multi-venue family entertainment operator headquartered in Epsom, Surrey, operating a portfolio of six distinct attractions across England: Hobbledown (Epsom) and Hobbledown Heath (Hounslow) as farm, zoo and adventure parks; Gripped London as an aerial adventure park for ages 15+; Kidspace Romford and Kidspace Croydon as indoor playgrounds; and Watermouth Castle in Devon as a heritage family attraction. The company also has an associated site, Farmer Ted's in Ormskirk, Lancashire, which hosts the Farmaggedon Halloween scare event drawing 30,000+ visitors annually. The company was founded in 2008 as Kidspace Adventures by Nick de Candole and Richard "Charlie" Farley and rebranded to The Escapade Group around 2022 to reflect its broader portfolio. Andy Davies serves as Chairman; Simon Elliott is Finance Director; Lee Waters is Director of Safety and Operations; Hannah Walker is Group Head of Marketing.

The group's core commercial product is the Escapade Annual Pass, priced at £125 for children and £100 for adults, providing unlimited access to all six venues plus 20% discounts on food, beverage and retail, 15% discounts on birthday parties and animal experiences, and access to discounted special events. An Enhanced Pass add-on allows a secondary adult (e.g., grandparent or caregiver) to accompany children without the primary passholder present, sold only through a contact centre. Annual passes are available via monthly direct debit over a 12-month minimum term or as upfront annual payment. Beyond the pass, revenue is generated from individual admission tickets, on-site F&B and retail, birthday party bookings, premium animal encounters, seasonal/special events (including Farmaggedon), and corporate away-day and team-building venue hire. Ticketing and membership management are handled through the third-party Fusemetrix platform, which underpins a unified online booking account across all six attractions.

The Escapade Group distributes direct-to-consumer through attraction websites (hobbledown.com, kidspaceadventures.com, watermouthcastle.com, farmerteds.com, begripped.com), on-site box offices, and a contact centre. Marketing is concentrated on per-attraction websites, a monthly email newsletter via MailChimp and Campus, and a corporate LinkedIn presence, with Google Analytics used for web traffic analysis. The company is founder-controlled with no disclosed external institutional or private equity backing, operating through five wholly-owned UK subsidiaries (Kidspace Romford Ltd, Kidspace Croydon Ltd, Hobbledown Ltd, Hobbledown West London Ltd, and Watermouth Castle). A 2019 funding event involving Kings Park Capital appears in the funding history. The company is actively soliciting new property acquisitions targeting 20-30 acre sites across the UK Home Counties, South East, South West, Midlands, North West and North, indicating continued rollout of the multi-venue model.

Name

The Escapade Group

Legal name

Escapade Group Limited

Website

https://escapadegroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Escapade Group is a UK multi-venue family entertainment operator running six attractions — Hobbledown farms, Hobbledown Heath, Gripped London aerial park, Kidspace indoor playgrounds, and Watermouth Castle — unified by an annual pass subscription for families with children.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Family Entertainment / Visitor Attractions

NAICS

Amusement and Theme Parks (71311), Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Entertainment Centers & Indoor Amusement (Arcades, Trampoline Parks, Indoor Play) (THAAAAAD)

Keywords

• Family entertainment venues
• Adventure parks
• Indoor playgrounds
• Visitor attractions
• Theme park operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Epsom

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Admission Tickets: Entry fees to individual attractions including Hobbledown, Kidspace, Gripped, Watermouth Castle, and Farmer Ted's. Visitors pay per visit or through annual pass membership.
2. Escapade Annual Pass Membership: Annual subscription providing unlimited access to all six attractions. Offered at £125 for children and £100 for adults, with direct debit payment option over 12 months. Includes discounts on F&B, retail, parties, and animal experiences.
3. Enhanced Pass Add-on: Additional adult pass allowing grandparents or caregivers to accompany children without primary passholding adult present. Sold through contact centre only.
4. Food and Beverage: On-site catering and restaurant operations across all venues. Passholders receive 20% discount on food and drink purchases.
5. Retail and Merchandise: On-site retail operations at attractions including gifts, toys, and souvenirs. Passholders receive 20% discount on retail purchases.
6. Birthday Parties: Party booking services at Kidspace venues with 15% discount for passholders.
7. Animal Experiences: Premium animal encounter experiences available at attractions with 15% discount for passholders (excluding CODA Birds of Prey and Willows accommodation).
8. Corporate Events and Team Building: Corporate away days, team building events, and venue hire for businesses seeking unique staff rewards or team activities.
9. Special Events: Seasonal and special events including Farmaggedon Halloween scare attraction at Farmer Ted's, with discounted rates for passholders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Escapade Group operates a portfolio of six UK family visitor attractions — Hobbledown (Epsom), Hobbledown Heath (Hounslow), Gripped London (aerial adventure), Kidspace Romford, Kidspace Croydon, Watermouth Castle (Devon), and the associated Farmer Ted's (Lancashire). The core commercial product is the Escapade Annual Pass, a subscription providing unlimited access to all six venues with discounts on food, retail, parties, and animal experiences. Additional revenue comes from individual admission tickets, food and beverage, retail, birthday parties, animal experiences, and corporate events.

Product overview

The Escapade Group operates as a multi-attraction entertainment company managing a portfolio of six distinct UK visitor attractions under various sub-brands. The core product is the Escapade Annual Pass, which provides unified access across all venues. The portfolio includes Hobbledown (Epsom) and Hobbledown Heath (Hounslow) as farm, zoo, and adventure parks; Gripped London as an aerial adventure park; Kidspace Romford and Kidspace Croydon as indoor playgrounds; Watermouth Castle as a family attraction in Devon; and Farmer Ted's as an adventure farm in Lancashire. The company positions itself as 'Creators of Extraordinary Experiences' focused on family entertainment where both children and adults can play.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Escapade Annual Pass: Multi-attraction annual pass providing unlimited access to all six Escapade Group venues including Kidspace, Hobbledown, Gripped, and Watermouth Castle with discounts on food, drink, retail, and events

Products and services

• Hobbledown (Epsom) A fantasy-themed farm, zoo, and adventure park in Epsom, Surrey featuring climbing structures, tunnels, animal encounters with capybara, meerkats, goats and lemurs, and indoor play areas. Targeted at children ages 2-13 and their families.
• Hobbledown Heath (Hounslow) A farm, zoo, and adventure playground in Hounslow, London featuring four themed villages set in woodland and meadow, with towers, tunnels, one of London's largest indoor multi-level play arenas, and animal walkthroughs with goats, meerkats, capybara, and highland cows. Targeted at children ages 2-13.
• Gripped London An aerial adventure park in Hounslow, London featuring six adrenaline challenges including a dual-line zip trek across West London, spiral and sheer-drop speed slides, and a power fan descender with a 24-metre drop and panoramic London views. Restricted to ages 15 and older.
• Kidspace Romford An indoor playground in Romford, London featuring a go-kart track, a life-sized beanstalk climbing challenge, multi-level play frames with nets, slides and softball cannon arenas, specialised toddler sections, and an Oceanarium virtual aquarium. Targeted at children ages 2-10.
• Kidspace Croydon An award-winning indoor play centre in Croydon, London featuring cargo nets, vertical mazes, ball pits, a Toddler Village, Thunderball City, sand play, and draw-to-life interactive activities. Targeted at children ages 2-10.
• Watermouth Castle A castle and family attraction in Ilfracombe, Devon combining children's activities, rides and attractions with Victorian-era treasures, quirky curiosities, and coastal gardens. Marketed as appealing to ages 1-100.
• Farmer Ted's Adventure Farm A children's adventure farm near Ormskirk, Lancashire with indoor and outdoor play areas, animal encounters, the UK's only Shaun the Sheep attraction, and the Farmaggedon Halloween scare event which attracts over 30,000 visitors annually. Targeted at children ages 2-13.
• Escapade Annual Pass A multi-attraction annual pass providing unlimited access to all six Escapade Group venues: Hobbledown Epsom, Hobbledown Heath, Gripped, Kidspace Croydon, Kidspace Romford, and Watermouth Castle. Priced at £125 for children and £100 for adults, with 20% off food and retail, 15% off parties and animal experiences, discounted special event rates, and an Enhanced Pass add-on for grandparents/caregivers. Direct debit monthly installment option over a 12-month minimum term.
• Corporate Events and Team Building Corporate away days, team building events, staff rewards, and venue hire services marketed to UK employers across the Escapade Group's attraction venues, offering distinctive group activity experiences outside traditional office or hotel settings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30,000 annual visitors to Farmaggedon Halloween event at Farmer Ted's

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UK Employers (Corporate Clients)coreOthersThe Escapade Group markets corporate team building, away days, and staff reward packages to UK employers. This B2B channel represents a distinct revenue stream for corporate event bookings and group admissions.
• Other Attractions (Ticket Swap)minorOthersThe company is open to ticket swap arrangements with other UK attractions, enabling cross-promotion and expanded offerings for customers of both parties.
• Brand SuppliersminorOthersThe company seeks brand partnerships with suppliers who could supply products to their attraction sites.
• SponsorsminorOthersThe company is actively seeking sponsorship and partnership opportunities for their attraction sites.
• FusemetrixcoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party ticketing system provider used for online ticket sales, membership management, and event bookings. All personal data from ticket purchases is stored in Fusemetrix secure servers.
• MailChimpcoreTechnology or IntegrationEmail marketing platform used for monthly newsletter delivery. Provides standard compliance technologies and click/open statistics for email campaign monitoring and improvement.
• CampuscoreTechnology or IntegrationEmail marketing platform provider used alongside MailChimp for newsletter delivery to mailing list subscribers.
• Google AnalyticscoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party web analytics service used to collect standard internet log information and visitor behavior patterns across all Escapade Group websites.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sundown Adventureland: Nottinghamshire children's theme park with indoor and outdoor rides aimed at under-10s. Directly comparable to Kidspace Croydon/Romford and Hobbledown as a UK destination focused on younger children's family day-out market.
• Flamingo Land: Yorkshire theme park and zoo combining roller coasters, family rides and animal exhibits. Highly comparable to Escapade's mix of thrill attractions (Gripped), animal experiences (Hobbledown) and family rides (Kidspace).
• West Midland Safari Park: Worcestershire safari and adventure park combining animal drive-throughs with theme park rides and seasonal events. Directly comparable to the Hobbledown/Farmer Ted's farm-and-adventure format with strong seasonal event programming.
• Drayton Manor: Staffordshire-based family theme park with Thomas Land and a zoo, targeting similar ages (toddlers to teens) as Escapade's portfolio. Directly comparable as a multi-day destination UK family attraction with on-site animal experiences.
• Woburn Safari Park: Bedfordshire safari park and family attraction with animal encounters and adventure play areas. Comparable to Hobbledown and Watermouth Castle as a UK farm/animal-led family attraction targeting multi-generational visitors.
• Paultons Park: UK family theme park in Hampshire, home of Peppa Pig World. Closest direct peer to Escapade's Hobbledown/Kidspace venues as a multi-attraction family theme park with strong IP tie-ins targeting children under 13 and their parents.
• Pleasurewood Hills: Suffolk-based family theme park with rides, animals and seasonal events (including Halloween scare programming comparable to Farmaggedon). Comparable mid-sized UK regional family attraction competing for similar day-trip demand.

Broad incumbents

• Merlin Entertainments: Global operator of LEGOLAND, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and Madame Tussauds. Largest UK family attraction operator and the natural broad incumbent against which Escapade Group competes for family leisure spend, though Merlin operates at vastly greater scale and with deeper IP partnerships.
• Center Parcs UK: UK family short-break operator with indoor subtropical swimming, outdoor activities and accommodation villages. Targets the same UK family-with-children leisure segment as Escapade Group but via multi-day stays rather than day visits.
• Chessington World of Adventures: Greater London theme park and zoo operated by Merlin Entertainments, combining family rides, a zoo and resort accommodation. A direct competitor for South East England family day-trip demand against Hobbledown Epsom, Hobbledown Heath and Kidspace.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/escapadegroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Escapade Group