Inside THE DEAL
P E NI NSU L A C A P I TA L PARTNE R S & ES C A P O LO GY
The Science of the Deal Escapology teams up with Peninsula Capital to build a dominant entertainment brand
CHRIS GESSNER Partner, Peninsula Capital Partners
SIMON DAVISON Co-founder, Escapology
24 middlemarketgrowth.org
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Like players trying to decipher clues to break out of a room within a set time frame, Escapology, an operator of escape room entertainment venues, is working to solve a challenge of its own: how to continue to grow and maintain its position as the world’s largest escape room company. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Orlando, Escapology has 57 locations around the globe, including 52 franchised and five owned outposts. The company is active in countries including the U.S., Canada, Chile, Ecuador, United Arab Emirates and Spain. Escape room patrons work together in teams to uncover clues, solve puzzles and complete tasks in order to advance through the room and ultimately “escape” the spaces— which often are decorated based on a theme, such as “train car” or “stately manor.” Last year, Escapology set out to find another player to add to its team, one that could provide capital and help the company achieve its mission of
becoming the largest, greatest escape room company in the world. “We want to be a household name,” says Escapology co-founder Simon Davison. “We were looking for a partner who shared our values to grow this company as big and best as we can.” That’s where Peninsula Capital Partners enters the game. The Detroit-based investment company specializes in providing junior capital, including subordinated debt, preferred stock or common stock—either as a minority or control investor—to middle-market companies. Peninsula believes it can help Escapology realize the goal of growing to about 200 locations, including 15 to 20 corporate-owned locations, over the next few years. One obstacle to expansion is the cost of building corporate stores, which run about $500,000 each. “The real financial upside for the business is to open corporate venues and we’ve known that for a while,”
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9/20/21 12:01 PM
