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(Sharecast News) - XP Factory shares tumbled on Monday as it warned on profits, pointing to a weaker performance from its Boom Battle Bar business.
In an update on trading over the festive period, the company, which also operates the Escape Hunt brand, hailed record quarterly sales, with UK owned and operated (O&O) revenue growth of 4.2% in the 13 weeks to 28 December 2025.
Year-to-date group unaudited pre-IFRS 16 adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at 4.8m in the 39 weeks to 28 December 2025, up 0.1m on the prior year.
XP pointed to "exceptional" trading in Escape Hunt O&O. However, it said Boom Bar O&O continued to see a decline in like-for-like sales, with ongoing sector softness. Boom Bar saw LFL sales fall 7.2% in the 13 weeks to 28 December 2025, as strong corporate bookings failed to compensate for declines in consumer sales.
As a result, XP Factory now expects FY26 pre-IFRS16 adjusted EBITDA of between 5m and 6m, below market expectations. The company also said that FY27 was set to be "a year of consolidation", and that it would be "moderating" the pace of its new site openings amid uncertain market conditions.
Chief executive Richard Harpham said: "Against a backdrop of well-documented industry challenges, we have continued to outperform the wider experiential leisure market and make progress against our strategic objectives.
"While near-term trading within Boom has been impacted by market pressures, with strong market positions and a compelling UK growth runway, we remain well positioned to emerge as a long-term winner as the sector continues to consolidate."
At 1005 GMT, the shares were down 14% at 12p.
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