Escape Hunt

What Escape Hunt does

Escape Hunt is a UK-headquartered location-based entertainment brand operating immersive themed escape rooms, outdoor city-hunt adventures, virtual reality experiences, and at-home print-and-play and letterbox games. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in London (registered entity: Escape Hunt Franchises Ltd, company number 10856646), the company runs 27 venues across the UK and operates in 12 international markets including the USA, UAE, Spain, Qatar, Portugal, Norway, Netherlands, Kuwait, France, Belgium, and Australia. Its core product is 60-minute, thematically designed physical escape rooms built around original IP (Alice in Puzzleland, Blackbeard's Treasure, Dracula, Aladdin) and licensed content (Doctor Who: Worlds Collide, A Dalek Awakens), supplemented by city-hunt outdoor adventures using iPads and prop cases, wireless-headset VR titles, and a digital/physical at-home game range.

The company monetizes through per-person ticket sales for venue experiences (£22–£33), bespoke corporate team-building packages, social event packages (birthday, hen, stag), seasonal Christmas party tiers, gift vouchers (£20–£250, 12-month validity), and e-commerce sales of at-home games. Its go-to-market is dual-track: direct-to-consumer self-serve online booking for individuals and small groups, combined with a sales-led B2B motion for corporate accounts (dedicated phone line 0330 118 0622) handling large groups beyond 24 players. Channels include venue footfall, SEO-optimized local pages on escapehunt.com, Facebook/Instagram/Twitter organic social, TripAdvisor-earned media, and email/newsletters. Escape Hunt is a wholly-owned subsidiary brand of XP Factory plc, a diversified leisure group that also operates Boom Battle Bar; many Escape Hunt locations are co-located within Boom Battle Bar sites, sharing fixed costs and enabling cross-sell into axe throwing and bar facilities.

Name

Escape Hunt

Legal name

Escape Hunt Franchises Ltd

Website

https://escapehunt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Escape Hunt is a UK-headquartered location-based entertainment brand operating 27 immersive escape room venues, outdoor city hunts, VR experiences, and at-home games across 12 countries. It serves individual consumers and corporate clients with themed IP including Doctor Who-licensed content, under parent XP Factory plc.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Location-based entertainment

NAICS

Amusement Arcades (71312)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Escape Room Games & Mystery Puzzle Boxes Retail (CRALALAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mini Golf & Attractions Centers (Mini Golf, Go-Karts, Laser Tag Complexes) (THAJAEAK)

Keywords

• Escape room games
• Location-based entertainment
• Team building experiences
• Immersive gaming
• Virtual reality games

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Escape Room Ticket Sales: Per-person ticket sales for in-venue escape room experiences, with pricing varying by group size (2-6 players) from £22-£33 per person. Individual bookings for walk-in and pre-booked sessions.
2. Corporate Event Packages: B2B team building packages sold to corporate clients including Early Week Escapes (£29 PP), Epic Quest, and Treasure Seekers tiers, with add-ons like drinks and food.
3. Social Event Packages: Birthday, hen and stag party packages with per-person pricing (£22-£35 PP), including free celebrant offers for groups of 10+.
4. Gift Vouchers and E-Vouchers: Pre-paid gift cards and digital e-vouchers in various denominations (£20-£250) redeemable against experiences. 12-month validity.
5. Letterbox Games: Physical games delivered via Royal Mail, featuring A Curious Tea Party and other themes. Priced around £14.99 plus shipping.
6. Print & Play Games: Digital download puzzle packs priced at £9.99 each, featuring 10 immersive themes. Also available as subscription.
7. City Hunt Experiences: Outdoor city adventure bookings at £15 per person, suitable for all ages with under 8s free.
8. Virtual Reality Experiences: VR escape room sessions at £27 per person for groups of 2-4 players, lasting 45-60 minutes.
9. Christmas Party Packages: Seasonal corporate packages including Silver Bells Saver (£29 PP), Jingle Bells (£38 PP), and Sleigh Bells (£67 PP) with multiple escape rooms and drinks.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Escape Hunt operates physical escape room venues where groups solve themed puzzles and complete missions within a set time limit. Beyond its in-venue escape room games, the company offers complementary entertainment formats including outdoor city hunts, virtual reality experiences, downloadable print-and-play at-home games, and letterbox treasure hunts, alongside event packages for corporate team-building and private social occasions.

Product overview

Escape Hunt operates a multi-format location-based entertainment business offering immersive themed experiences. The core product portfolio consists of five main experience types: (1) Escape Rooms - 5-star rated immersive indoor escape room adventures lasting 60 minutes; (2) City Hunt - outdoor city-based adventure games combining escape room mechanics with walking exploration over approximately 2km; (3) Virtual Reality - VR-powered escape room experiences using wireless headsets for fully immersive gameplay; (4) Play at Home (Print & Play) - downloadable and printable at-home puzzle games; and (5) Letterbox Games - physical games delivered via Royal Mail. The company also offers corporate team building events, social party packages (birthday, hen, stag), Christmas party packages, school trips, and gift vouchers. All experiences feature thematic storylines and are built around puzzle-solving mechanics. The business operates across 27 UK locations and multiple international markets including USA, UAE, Spain, Qatar, Portugal, Norway, Netherlands, Kuwait, France, Belgium, and Australia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Themed Escape Room Games

Quantifiable outcome

• Escape Hunt brand achieved 6.4% like-for-like sales growth while sister brand Boom Battle Bar declined 7.2%

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• XP Factory plccoreOthersParent company and franchise operator of Escape Hunt brand. XP Factory plc is the London-based leisure group (company number 10184316) that owns and operates Escape Hunt and Boom Battle Bar brands. Escape Hunt Franchises Ltd is a subsidiary under this group.
• Boom Battle BarcoreOthersSister brand under XP Factory. Escape Hunt locations are operated within Boom Battle Bar venues. Both brands share physical locations, with Boom Battle Bar providing complementary axe throwing and bar facilities alongside Escape Hunt's escape rooms.
• Royal MailminorOthersDelivery partner for physical gift cards, gift box vouchers, and letterbox games shipped within UK. Orders dispatched via 'Royal Mail Signed For' service with delivery timing dependent on postage option selected.
• Warner Bros. / Doctor WhominorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerLicensed Doctor Who themed escape room experiences (Doctor Who: Worlds Collide and Doctor Who: A Dalek Awakens) available at select venues. These branded experiences command premium pricing and attract the Doctor Who fan audience.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Puttshack: Puttshack is a tech-enabled mini-golf and social entertainment venue operator with multiple UK and US locations targeting similar group-outing and corporate event occasions as Escape Hunt. It competes for the same discretionary leisure spend and uses a similar premium, multi-location, technology-enhanced positioning.
• ClueQuest: ClueQuest is a London-based escape room operator offering live escape room experiences for consumers and corporate clients. It is a direct UK competitor in the same product category, serving overlapping customer segments including corporate team-building and group social occasions.
• Flight Club (Social Darts): Flight Club operates technology-enhanced social darts venues across the UK and US, targeting groups, parties and corporate events with a comparable premium pricing and multi-location model. It competes for the same evening/weekend group leisure occasions as Escape Hunt.
• The Escape Game: The Escape Game is a US-headquartered escape room operator with multiple locations across major US cities, offering themed immersive escape room experiences for consumers and corporate groups. It is the closest international direct comparable to Escape Hunt in scale, multi-location model and themed content strategy.
• Trapped Escape Rooms: Trapped is a UK-based escape room operator with multiple venues offering themed indoor escape rooms for groups and corporate events. It competes directly with Escape Hunt in the same UK cities and serves the same consumer and corporate segments.
• Bounce (Ping Pong): Bounce operates ping pong and shuffleboard social entertainment venues in London and other major cities, offering group activities, parties and corporate events. It targets the same adult group-outing occasion as Escape Hunt's social events and hen/stag packages.

Emerging players

• Activate Games: Activate Games operates tech-enabled active gaming venues combining physical challenges with digital scoring and puzzle elements, with UK and North American locations. It overlaps with Escape Hunt on the group entertainment, immersive game and corporate event occasions, representing an emerging competitive format.

Broad incumbents

• Topgolf: Topgolf is a global sports entertainment venue operator offering tech-enabled golf games alongside food, drinks and events. While its core activity is sport-based rather than puzzle-based, it competes for the same broad location-based entertainment occasion, corporate group bookings and family/casual leisure spend.
• Boom Battle Bar: Boom Battle Bar is the sister brand of Escape Hunt under parent XP Factory plc, operating axe-throwing and bar venues that co-locate with Escape Hunt locations. It is directly comparable on venue operations, target demographic and group entertainment occasion, and is useful as a real-time benchmark for Escape Hunt's performance.

Regional players

• All Star Lanes: All Star Lanes is a UK bowling and entertainment venue operator offering group activities, parties and corporate events in London and other UK cities. It is a regional competitor for the same group social and corporate occasions as Escape Hunt, though its core activity is bowling rather than puzzles.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EscapeHunt
• Facebookfacebook.com/EscapeHunt
• Instagraminstagram.com/escapehuntuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/escape-hunt-plc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Escape Hunt