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40 new jobs as £3 million tenpin bowling site to open in Walsall

A new £3 million tenpin bowling centre is to open in Walsall, creating up to 40 new jobs.

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Tenpin is coming to Walsall

Ten Entertainment Group is to open a new site in Walsall in the second half of this year.

The new Tenpin will be in the Crown Wharf Retail Park and is taking over units vacated by Mothercare and Peacock. Spokesman Matthew Smallwood said the new centre was key to the revitalisation of the retail park at Wolverhampton Street.

“It represents a £3 million investment and is a brand new site,” he added.

He said between 30 and 40 new jobs were being created through the project.

Tenpin Walsall will feature 20 state-of-the-art bowling lanes, a laser tag arena, Houdini escape rooms, karaoke booths, pool table and games arcade areas as well as food and drink areas.

The group currently operates 46 bowling and family entertainment centres, including Tenpins in Dudley, Stafford and Telford. It has seen 32.4 per cent growth in sales since reopening on May 17 compared to its pre-pandemic performance. For the 52 weeks to Boxing Day there was growth of 29 per cent to £67 million, despite closure of its centres for 38 per cent of the year. The group has delivered record profit in each month since June, with the first half lockdown losses offset to deliver a return to full-year profitability.

Ten expects to open at least four new centres in 2022 with several in advanced stages of negotiation.

Four major refurbishments were carried out last year, with seven planned for 2022. Once Covid restrictions were fully lifted on July 19, both sales and profit increased to record levels.

Trading during December remained good, albeit understandably there was some softening of demand from large groups and parties, driven by Government messaging and the impact of the implementation of constraints in Wales and Scotland.

For the first week of 2021-2022, immediately following Christmas, the group returned to the previous trend, delivering its highest ever sales for the Christmas and new year period.

Chief executive Graham Blackwell said: “It reflects the strength of our business, our people and our improved customer experience that TEG has delivered record trading months since May and returned to full-year profitability in 2021 despite closure in the first half of the year. I am grateful for the hard work of all our teams, suppliers and partners who have contributed to this very strong recovery, and I thank our customers for their continued support and loyalty.

“We are well set to deliver continued growth and success in 2022.”