Nick Basing is to step down as chairman of Ten Entertainment, the major UK-based family entertainment centre operating company.
Basing has been in the chair at the company for 12 years and the company will now take measures to appoint his successor. Basing will remain in position until September to enable a change-over.
During his tenure, the group has grown its EBITDA x10 and growing like-for-like sales every year between 2012 and 2020. Pre-Covid, Ten Entertainment was valued at £200m.
Basing became CEO at Essenden, the forerunner of Ten, in 2009 when he was an operating partner of Harwood Capital. After Ten was rebranded, Baring overhauled the group and modernised it in face of a contracting tenpin bowling industry. Today Ten Entertainment hosts six million visitors annually.
With his team, Basing used new technologies and broadened the product offer at the group’s venues with new gaming machines, table-tennis, karaoke and escape rooms. They also upgraded the casual dining facilities. At the same time, Ten has adopted a policy of acquisition, notably the recent joint venture acquisition of Houdini’s escape rooms.
Baring said: “I believe that we are at the sweet-spot of experiential leisure that over the years our team has helped to pioneer.”
Ten operates 46 centres across the UK, with 1,000 tenpin bowling lanes and employs 1,200 people.
