Trampoline and leisure park operator leaps into new ownership after sale
One of the UK’s largest independently owned trampoline and indoor children’s leisure park operators, Rotherham-headquartered Jump Inc, has been acquired by Norwegian private equity-backed competitor AirHop.
AirHop, which has 18 trampoline and activity centres in the UK, is owned by Activeon, Europe’s largest trampoline park operator with a total of 57 parks in the Nordics, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK, and is backed by Norwegian PE firm Equip Capital.
Founded in 2015 by shareholders and directors Michael Brockelbank and Lee Shipley, with its first park in Rotherham, the Jump Inc group now has a total of eight sites, including the recently opened West Wood Cross site in Kent, with a plan for more to come.
All three director shareholders currently involved in the business, Brockelbank, Shipley, and Mark Poole, will remain involved for the coming months in a consultancy capacity.
Castle Square Corporate Finance, a deal advisory firm, and law firm Lupton Fawcett, advised the shareholders of Jump Inc on the deal.
Brockelbank said: “The sale of Jump Inc is a great success story, the plan was always to create and build a portfolio of sites and sell, which is what we have done as a collective.
“The future is bright for the business with planned investment in new features that will see the parks get even better for our customers.
“Growing to more than 500 employees in a relatively short period of time has had its challenges but these have been overcome to give us the result we set out to achieve when starting out back in 2015.”
Tim McClure, managing director at AirHop, said: “We’re very pleased Jump Inc has joined AirHop as we continue to expand and really strengthen our business in and around Yorkshire.
“Lee, Michael and Mark have established a great business that puts the guest experience at the centre of every decision.
“We look forward to working with the fantastic staff at Jump Inc as we continue to grow and invest in new activities for our guests.”
Castle Square Corporate Finance assistant manager Joseph Potts led on the transaction.
He said: “I’m happy to assist Michael, Lee, Mark and the rest of the shareholders with their long-term exit plans from the business.
“They have managed to build one of the most well-known trampoline park brands in the UK and it is satisfying to see them being rewarded for all their hard work.
“We have also given AirHop and Activeon a massive opportunity to expand their foothold in the UK even further.”
The Sheffield office of Lupton Fawcett, led by partner Rory Conwill, provided legal advice to the shareholders.
Conwill added: “My colleagues and I are very pleased to have supported Michael, Lee, Mark and the wider Jump Inc team on the sale of the business to AirHop.
“Jump Inc is a high-quality, Yorkshire-based business that has attracted overseas inward investment into the region. We wish Tim and the wider AirHop team every success for the future.”
AirHop was advised by London-based commercial lawyers Ignition Law.
