We catch up with Laser Quest owner Alistair Dawson who went from working for the brand as a teenager to buying the whole business over the pandemic
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“Do you want to see my alien?” said Alistair Dawson, as he takes me on a tour of Laser Quest Greenwich in the run-up to the venue’s launch.
“I’m really pleased with him.”
Alistair has a long history with Laser Quest and there’s a sense he’s lost none of the enthusiasm he first felt for the game and its atmosphere.
Born in Bolton, he began playing aged 14 and started working part-time at his local branch while studying at college.
“Apart from the games it was also a bit of a social scene,” he said. “Inevitably I got a job and a foot in the door.
“I lived up there until my mid-20s when I hit a bit of a glass ceiling as one of the managers, so the next step was to own my own centre.
“There was an opportunity for me to get some premises in Croydon and open up.
“So I sold my house and raised some capital to get it up and running as a licensed operation, similar to a franchise.”
opening his first
That first venture was a success, with Alistair getting stuck in to establish the business.
“Once that had happened, all I could think about was opening a second one,” he said.
“Being a northern lad, I was drawn to some opportunities in the north and so I opened the next one in Sheffield.
“That was next to a leisure complex and a cinema, so that worked very well too.
“From there it was a case of me, having understood how the business model worked, copying and pasting the next one and eventually I found myself with eight or nine sites.”
That trajectory may well have continued had the pandemic not arrived in 2020, which forced the closure of his businesses.
However, Alistair leaned into an opportunity.
“I had the chance to buy the whole of Laser Quest, which develops, supplies and licenses the equipment,” he said.
“The owner was coming up to retirement age and I got on with him quite well, so that opportunity was there.
“I figured that, if we didn’t recover from Covid, I was screwed anyway, so I put all my chips on the business.”
bouncing back
The man who’d fired his first laser at 14 now owned the company that was ultimately responsible for his first ever job.
“It was bizarre,” he said. “At first there was a lot of pressure and I did question whether I’d done the right thing.
“But then there was a bounce back after Covid – people had been starved of fun.
“When all the centres were open and trading again, there was renewed interest from other leisure operators too – such as Flip Out – so it’s proved to be quite a good decision and I hope it will continue.
“At the moment we’ve got about 60 centres in the UK and I own about 10 or 12 of those sites.
“The others are licensed operations.”
In response to renewed interest, the company has been increasing its operation in Greater London with branches in Bromley, Brent Cross, Kingston, Barking and Romford.
It has just opened Laser Quest Greenwich, tucked away in a basement at Merryweather Place just off the Deptford End of Greenwich High Road.
It’s close to well-established aim-based business Archery Fit.
Laser Quest Greenwich: meeting demand
“We’ve realised there’s a big demand in the capital and we’re now getting round to fulfilling that,” said Alistair.
“Traditionally, the business has always been a venue for children’s birthday parties.
“We do packages that include food, drinks and everything people need for that.
“But it also appeals to all ages – for some there’s a nostalgic feel to it.
“Someone in their 40s, for example, might remember going to parties as kids.
“It’s a fun activity and people get excited just talking about it.
“We still do score sheets for each player so you can see who you zapped, who zapped you and what percentage of your shots were on target.
“Being just down the road from Canary Wharf, we’d love companies to use the facility – we do offer exclusive hire with unlimited games.
“We’ve got a 4,500sq ft arena that can accommodate up to 40 players.
“Catering can be arranged or groups can make their own arrangements – we like to be really flexible.
“We also intend to get the venue licensed so we will be able to serve alcohol to adult players.
“That means we’ll also be fitting into the competitive socialising market, which is really taking off.
“We’ve also introduced something completely new for Greenwich – an attraction called the Laser Maze.
“It’s like something out of Mission Impossible, where players have to navigate their way through a room filled with beams.
“Break one of them and you’ll get penalised.
“We hope it will become really competitive.
“Also on-site, we have an array of video games to keep people entertained.”
looking to the future
As for the future, the fact that Alistair is now in charge of the wider business means he has oversight on the development of the brand, its equipment and what its future will be.
“As a business we own the trademark and produce the packs necessary to play the game,” he said.
“The great thing about owning the company is that I can help develop new equipment, features and systems to make it even better over the coming years.
“One of the things we want to do is to bring out a Laser Quest app, so photos and scorecards from the game can be downloaded.
“That would also allow us to do members’ leagues.
“We’ve got some really exciting things coming over the next couple of years.”
key details: Laser Quest Greenwich
Laser Quest Greenwich is open now from 4pm-9pm on weekdays and from 10am-9pm at weekends, for school holidays and on Bank Holidays.
The standard rate for a single, 20-minute game is £10.95. A go on the Laser Maze costs £3.
Party packages start at £29.95 per guest.
Exclusive hire of the whole venue starts at £350 with a capacity of 40 people.
Corporate hire starts at £795 for one hour with unlimited games included.
Find out more about the branch here
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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
