The Original Bowling Company takeover of Bowlplex wins CMA approval

Tenpin bowling giant The Original Bowling Company (TOBC) – the operator behind brands such as Hollywood Bowl and AMF Bowling – has been given the green light to complete its acquisition of Bowlplex.

The Competitions and Markets Authority gave its approval to the takeover, expected to be completed this week, following a lengthy assessment of how the deal would impact market competitiveness. The deal will see will see TOBC add 11 of Bowlplex's 17 locations to its portfolio, taking its number of nationwide bowling centres to 54.

TOBC has offered to sell the remaining six Bowlplex ten-pin bowling centres to Essenden Limited, owner of Tenpin Limited, to remedy the competition concerns identified by the CMA during its phase 1 investigation. The six centres are in Bristol, Camberley, Cardiff, Dudley, Castleford and Glasgow.

“We are delighted to have been given approval to acquire 11 Bowlplex centres in locations that are an excellent addition to our existing business," said Steve Burns, CEO at The Original Bowling Company.

“We are looking forward to working closely with the Bowlplex centre management team in introducing our innovative, customer focused ways of working. We will be making significant investment in the Bowlplex estate over the next three years creating fantastic, upgraded environments under the Hollywood Bowl brand.”