15th February 2016 – Beechbrook Capital has provided a loan, alongside an equity injection from the shareholders, to fund the roll-out of Oxygen Freejumping trampoline parks across the UK. Oxygen Freejumping is the country’s leading operator of trampoline parks.
This round of funding follows a landmark deal with Lucozade Powerleague to acquire five new sites, comprising 162,000 sq ft of trampoline parks throughout the UK. The new parks, which include sites in Derby, Wigan and Trafford Park, Manchester, will be operational by the end of the summer, offering Oxygen’s blend of Freejumping, gymnastics and parkour coaching, parties, and fitness classes. Oxygen Freejumping opened its first park in West Acton last summer, and its second in Southampton in December. Oxygen aims to open 30 parks within two years
The company is spearheaded by leisure innovators Fred Turok as chairman and David Stalker as chief executive.
This investment is Beechbrook’s first from its new UK SME Credit Fund, which held a first close at £103m in December. Jon Herbert, managing director of the UK SME Fund at Beechbrook Capital, said: “Our investment in Oxygen is the first in our newly-launched UK SME Credit Fund, and is a fantastic example of the type of business we are looking to support thanks to the strength of the management team, the quality of the Oxygen offering and the performance of the business to date. It was a pleasure completing this deal with the team at Oxygen and we are looking forward to supporting the business as it continues its nationwide rollout plan and establishes itself as the leading brand in this exciting market.”
Fred Turok added: “There were a number of offers on the table, through our advisers Zeus Capital and we are delighted that Beechbrook is investing in this stage of our development. This is a fast paced and exciting leisure market, similar to the growth of the health and fitness sector a few years back. Our existing backers and Beechbrook recognise that we have a very experienced management team, a high quality product and an exceptional health and safety record.”
