VR group signs deal with London Eye and predicts first quarter EBITDA break-even

Virtual reality specialist Immotion Group has signed contracts in the past week with the London Eye, a further four aquariums and with its first European zoo partner.

Additionally, the Salford business has agreed terms, subject to contract, with a further nine aquariums and five entertainment sites.

The aggregate total across the sites, contractually agreed and subject to contract, is 93 headsets, all of which are scheduled to be installed during the first quarter of 2020.

The Company currently has 136 paid-for headsets in stock, 93 of which will be deployed to fulfil these contracts.

Immotion says that, included in these new partner sites, is the installation of a six-seater mini-theatre solution at the iconic London Eye attraction.

The installation will feature Immotion’s unique VR Roller Coaster experience, Tower Coaster-London, where customers will be able to see London from 400 feet above the Thames, enjoying the sites of the city, while riding this thrilling VR experience.

This installation joins the recently announced eight-seater mini-theatre currently being installed into the neighbouring Sea Life London location, sited in the iconic County Hall building on the South Bank of the River Thames.

The company said it believe it will reach monthly EBITDA break-even at or around the end of the first quarter, based on its forecasted costs.

It anticipates more partners signing in early 2020.

Commercial director Rod Findley said: “We are thrilled with the ongoing response to our offering. The partner team have been working hard throughout the last quarter of 2019 to secure these new sites.

“The interest from aquarium partners is a strong endorsement of our focused model.

“We and our partners are very pleased with both the performance and audience reaction. With 19 new partners agreeing to a further 93 headsets this bodes well as we drive towards monthly profitability.”

He added: “Our experienced team have been working on a number of additional experiences in new verticals which will allow us to broaden our partner base as we start to expand our offering into 2020.

“This, combined with our new larger format ‘Theatre’ offering, will allow us to provide a wider range of experiences to a much bigger partner audience.

“We are in advanced talks with a number of larger locations and look forward to updating the market on these new additions in due course.”