Entrepreneur interview: Can building a business empire be all fun and games?

“I don’t do things by halves,” says entrepreneur Richard Beese.

For Richard, a former stockbroker, a brush with death in his early 20s was the catalyst for a life-changing career move. It’s now a decade since he opened his first Flip Out – a trampoline park concept imported from Australia – and, having made £1m profit in its first year, the company has grown to become one of the largest operators of indoor adventure parks in Europe.

Flip Out is one of a string of franchise ventures Richard co-owns under the umbrella of We Do Play. With a business mission to “create unforgettable experiences, one guest at a time”, these include bars offering axe throwing and shuffleboard, as well as interactive live-action gaming centres. With minority investment from Frasers Group in 2025, advised by the Investec M&A team, the company is now gearing up for even greater growth.

Here, Richard speaks about what drives his entrepreneurial spirit and the lessons he’s learned in business.

1. Can you tell us about how you started your career?

Richard: I think I was born a salesman. When I was about 10, I picked gooseberries, raspberries and blackberries, bagged them up and went knocking on people’s doors to sell them. At 19, I got a job making cruise-ship videos on a ship in the Caribbean. But where we made the serious money was renting out snorkelling equipment, so I got a taste of upselling and working hard.

When I came back to Bristol, I saw an opportunity for a stockbroker position, with no experience necessary. I learned about risk profiles, what investors liked, and different sectors such as mining, pharmaceuticals, media and technology, and delved deep into what made those companies tick. The money I made also gave me a platform to springboard to the next stage of my career. I’d always wanted to have my own business; I just wasn’t quite sure where I was going to land.

2. To what extent did your life-changing accident shape your business purpose and drive to succeed?

Richard: In 2004, I was hit by a Tube train near Bank station in London after an evening out. Unfortunately, my right leg was severed below the knee. It taught me that your life can change in the blink of an eye; I had so much going for me that could have disappeared.
When I recovered, I realised I had a second chance at life, so I knuckled down as hard as I could. Not everyone is so fortunate, but, looking at the accident now, it was a gift. It’s given me more empathy too, which I didn’t really have back then.

3. What attracted you to hospitality and leisure, and to the Flip Out trampoline park franchise?

Richard: Hospitality is about bringing people together, having fun and enjoying a good time. That’s a lovely business to be in when you get it right.

We [Richard and his business partner] went to a franchise show and came across Flip Out, a company that operated trampolining and adventure parks for children in Australia. Flip Out had a brand, they had a presence, and they just stood out. When we left the franchise show, we visited two generic trampoline parks in industrial estates, walked through the doors and saw hundreds of kids. We thought, “This is phenomenal.” That was ten years ago, and we haven’t looked back.

4. How did you grow the business?

Richard: Initially, I went in with more of a passive investment approach. I thought we’d set it up, put a general manager in place, and I’d continue with other business – whatever that might be. We realised very quickly that you get out what you put in.

From having one site, we got an opportunity to do a second, and before you know it, we bought the UK master franchise and the international business. I always thought we were going to make an impact. Now we have the world’s biggest trampoline park, which opened four months ago in Leeds. Sometimes in business, you get on a ride and there’s no getting off, so you might as well aim for as much as you can.

5. How do you identify what is going to be a success?

Richard: I’m always trying to keep my ear to the ground, asking why people are doing something and trying to find a gap in the market. You don’t necessarily have to reinvent the wheel; it might be about replicating something and improving it.

Boom Battle Bar – bars that offer activities such as axe throwing, shuffleboard and mini-golf – for example, has been a massive success. There were a lot of one-dimensional businesses out there, maybe specialising in darts or indoor golf. With those, if something falls out of fashion, you have a problem. We saw an opportunity to introduce variety.

6. How do you view risk?

Richard: You have to accept that sometimes things go wrong, and you need the ability, flexibility and confidence to deal with a situation. I have this unwavering confidence that, somehow, I can find a path through whatever issue comes up.

We were building the first Boom Battle Bar as the pandemic hit and premises closed. We looked at it from a risk perspective and thought, “If we never reopen, or the leisure industry is completely battered because of Covid and people never want to socialise again, we’re going bust anyway – so we may as well go for it.” We signed around 20 leases throughout Covid.

Don’t get me wrong: in the early days, risk is high, and when employees’ jobs and livelihoods are at stake, you need to assess situations carefully.

7. What’s the main challenge you’ve experienced in business?

Richard: Cash flow. When you’re moving fast and innovating, opportunities come up – and unless you’ve got a good CFO or are personally very strong on financial planning and accounting, spending money can really come back to bite you six months down the line.

8. You received funding from Frasers Group in 2025 to expand ventures such as interactive gaming centres under the Activate brand. How important is this investment, and what will it help you achieve?

Richard: We couldn’t have asked for a better partner. They’ve got liquidity, they understand what we’re trying to do, and it’s an area the group wants to grow in. And they’ve got some clever people there.

We’re laser-focused on launching 40 Activate sites over the next three to five years. We opened another three sites in December; we’ve got two in build now and another three planned straight after that. The partnership allows us to go out and look at properties of more than 200,000 square feet, which we wouldn’t have been able to do before.

9. What advice would you give an entrepreneur wanting to raise capital for the next step of their journey?

Richard: Getting the right partner in the corporate world is key. Although we spoke to several private equity houses and were enthused by what was on offer, there was a clear alignment with Frasers Group.

Having Investec as a partner – with the M&A team acting as financial adviser to We Do Play – was another key advantage. We worked with Investec for nearly two years before we even did the deal, with Investec coaching us on what we needed to do and how we needed to position ourselves.

9. What’s your goal for the next five years?

Richard: We are continuing to roll out Activate and Flip Out over the next three to five years. Then, high on my list, is pursuing an exit for that business, which will hopefully provide long-term security for my family.

The next sector I’m heavily involved in is the care industry. Before I started in hospitality, I invested with a friend to set up a children’s care home with educational provision. We now have 10 sites that provide full-time care and education for around 90 children.

That is a legacy business for us. It’s highly unlikely we will ever sell it. I’d love my children and my business partner’s children to be involved in it. There are so many opportunities to help people across different areas of the health sector, I feel it’s my duty to expand access for everyone who is vulnerable and needs help.

Important information:

This article is for general information purposes only and should not be used or relied upon as professional advice. It is advisable to contact a professional advisor if you need financial advice. The opinions featured are not to be considered the opinions of Investec.