XP Factory PLC on Wednesday said it has appointed two new independent non-executive directors and said its Boom franchise sites are performing in line with expectations.
XP Factory is a Sussex, England-based entertainment firm operating under Escape Hunt and Boom Battle Bar brands.
The company said it appointed Martin Shuker as its senior independent non-executive director, and Philip Shepherd as its independent non-executive director with effect from the conclusion of today’s annual general meeting. It said Karen Bach will be stepping down as the company’s senior independent non-executive director upon the appointments.
Shuker was most recently the managing director of KFC Western Europe with Yum Brands.
‘He had full strategic, growth and operational responsibility over 1,700 restaurants and 165 franchisees which generated £2.3 billion in sales and £120 million of profit. As managing director of KFC UK, he more than doubled sales to £1.3 billion and met or exceeded targets in 11 of 13 years,’ the firm said.
Following his appointment, Shuker will chair the company’s remuneration committee.
Shepherd is a former partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he originally trained in audit and tax. Following his appointment, he will chair the company’s audit committee.
Chair Richard Rose said: ‘We are delighted that Martin Shuker and Philip Shepherd have agreed to join our board. Their respective experience and skill sets bring an additional dimension to the board and will provide significant value to our strategic thinking, operational success and board governance.’
Turning to its trading update, XP Factory opened two Boom sites in June. It said eight Boom sites are in the advanced pipeline with more than 20 other Boom sites under active consideration, underpinning a strong pipeline.
As a result, the board said it remains confident of achieving its target of having 27 Boom sites open and trading by the end of the calendar year. Within this number, the company now expects at least nine owner-operated sites - an increase from the seven initially targeted.
Total cash at the end of May 2022 was £6.8 million.
Chief Executive Richard Harpham said: ‘The Boom estate is now a substantial business in its own right and we have a secured pipeline to deliver on our targets for 2022. Whilst we are not immune to inflationary pressures in our build costs, the return on capital metrics across both our existing brands remains highly attractive and provides the potential to deliver significant growth in shareholder value. As a result, we remain optimistic about the future prospects for the group.’
Shares were down 16% at 17.05 pence each on Wednesday afternoon in London.
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