Foresight Group LLP (“Foresight”), a leading independent private equity and infrastructure investment manager, is pleased to announce a £7.5 million investment into Roxy Leisure Limited (“Roxy” or “the Company”), a social entertainment bar group operating sites under the Roxy Ball Room, Roxy Lanes and Roxy Arcade banners across the North and Midlands.

Matt and Ben Jones launched the first Roxy site in 2013, becoming pioneers of in-bar entertainment, utilising their extensive experience in the industry to create a fast-growing and unique entertainment and leisure concept.

Roxy currently operates eight venues across four cities; Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham. The sites provide a range of entertainment facilities including pool tables, ping-pong, bowling, shuffleboard, mini-golf, arcade gaming and karaoke. The Company’s offering of multiple experiences all under one-roof is a clear differentiator in the rapidly expanding ‘competitive socialising’ sector.

The proposition has broad appeal across a wide demographic as people search for more experiential activities when socialising, which is encouraging leisure venues to diversify their offerings beyond the traditional bar/pub set up.
The investment will be used in part as growth capital, supporting the Company’s expansion into additional locations across the UK with multiple openings planned in 2020, including Birmingham early in the New Year and second venues in Manchester and Nottingham.

Commenting on the investment, Rob Jones, Investment Manager at Foresight, said: “Roxy demonstrates some of the most attractive leisure sector performance metrics we have seen and the growth of the business in recent years has been impressive. The Company is well-positioned to accelerate its growth with the additional support and guidance that Foresight will bring. Matt and Ben have built a successful business with a good corporate culture and we look forward to working with them to take Roxy through the next stage of its growth.”

Matt and Ben Jones, Founders of Roxy, added: “It has been a pleasure working with Foresight's experienced investment team, who understood our business quickly and demonstrated a strong appetite to support our plans. Their pragmatic approach and experience in working with businesses and management teams in our sector made them stand out as the right investor for us."