Stuart WoodMini golf experience Puttshack, from the group behind Bounce and Topgolf, has announced plans to open a new site in the intu shopping centre in Watford with an investment in excess of £5m.
Set to open in Summer 2020, the Watford site will follow the launch of Puttshack’s intu Lakeside site on 19 August, forming part of an ambitious expansion plan to open a new site every 12 weeks from 2020.
The 21,600ft intu Watford site is the latest opening to be announced by Puttshack, which launched at Westfield London White City in July 2018, co-founded by the brains behind Bounce and Topgolf.
Both the Watford and Lakeside sites will implement Puttshack’s world leading technology which combines automatic tracking with game scoring through the golf ball.
Puttshack CEO Joe Vrankin said: “We are incredibly excited to announce these new regional openings, which form the first of many in our national expansion plan.
“Puttshack is changing the competitive socializing landscape by combining mini golf with cutting edge technology and a first-class food and drink offering to deliver a high quality, immersive experience that appeals to a broad customer demographic.
“We want to bring that enhanced leisure experience to customers at all parts of the day; from encouraging families to join for a unique daytime activity to providing a party venue with DJs for an alternative late-night experience.”
Rebecca Ryman, regional managing director at intu, added: “Puttshack is a genuinely exciting concept that truly embraces the competitive socialising trend. Our portfolio of some of the UK’s most popular retail and leisure destinations means we are well placed to support its ambitious expansion plans at intu Watford and intu Lakeside”
Puttshack’s rapid expansion follows an equity raise of £27m in June 2019 with lead investor Promethean Investment. The two intu sites openings come as Puttshack prepares for an opening at 1 Poultry, Bank later in the year.