OE Experiences, a financial consulting and business management firm that specialises in the experience economy, has built a reputation for helping new experiential businesses to get off the ground.
A study by EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR) found that new experiential enterprises worth more than $100 billion are underfunded and waiting to launch. The majority of owners of attractions and entertainment venues are familiar with the frustration of attempting to interact with financiers and investors who don’t understand how to value an immersive concept.
OE Experiences, a firm with a strong background in finance and a keen eye for artistic execution, offers owner’s representation services. Central to the company’s ethos is the premise that the successful delivery of a transformative experience is very profitable but also extremely difficult to execute.
Monetising the experience economy
Matthew Cross, co-founder and CEO of OE Experiences, says: “The cost of designing an experiential attraction can be as high as 20% to 25% of a project budget – and this creates a challenge. Many businesses are also new, and may not have strong balance sheets. This means you must have high confidence in the earning potential of the business.”
OE Experiences has a track record of successfully monetizing the experience economy. in the past. The company works on immersive dining, themed hospitality, and location-based entertainment projects across the country as advisors, owner’s agents, and co-developers. Although Cross acknowledges that the majority of original ideas are never implemented, OE Experience projects have shown to advance swiftly and be successful.
Lewis Frazer, co-founder and CFO of OE Experiences, is responsible for a large portion of that success, says Cross. Frazer previously held the position of CFO at Regal Cinemas, where he guided the business through an IPO and oversaw all financial matters for the publicly traded company for six years before it was sold in a leveraged buyout. With a background in accounting, movie theatres, construction, and real estate development, Frazer is a skilled multi-disciplinary executive.
“In the 1990s it was nearly impossible to get financing for theaters,” Frazer says. “It was viewed as a ‘specialty purpose asset’ and banks couldn’t overcome that. We had to teach them how to view and account for theaters as businesses – not buildings – and we were able to do that. It’s exactly what we do today at OE Experiences for the clients we serve.”
Embracing retailtainment & experiential attractions
Businesses with an experiential focus are expanding, as is the attention around them. The concept that we are currently in an “Experience Economy” has gradually gained increasing acceptance around the world since an article by Joe Pine and James Gilmore was published in 1998.
AREA15 in Las Vegas, Grandscape in Texas, and The 407: Gateway to Adventure in Tennessee, among others, adopt a destination placemaking approach that places a strong emphasis on experiences and activities. The transition of retail into entertainment is also being highlighted by conferences like ICSC, which changed its name from “International Council of Shopping Centers” to “ICSC: Innovating Commerce Serving Communities,” and the now-eighth-annual Entertainment Experience Expo (also known as “EEE”), which takes place in Los Angeles.
“What we’re doing isn’t necessarily new, we’re just addressing lender and investor concerns better today than it was done in the past – and OE Experiences is successfully and continuously crafting solutions for experiential businesses,” adds Frazer. “I’ve had the benefit of a career doing this and building a portfolio of $4B of financing for what was, at the time, the default entertainment anchor. I now get to do it again with the next wave of businesses.”
Frazer cites the combination of creative design and operations into a funding-secured financial plan as one of the most beneficial services provided by OE Experiences to its clients. These plans are then carried out within the allocated budget.
The 407: Gateway to Adventure
A 200-acre development with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, The 407: Gateway to Adventure [pictured, top], is one of OE Experiences’ current high-profile projects. The development is situated near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains, the most popular national park in the country.
In addition to the largest Buc-ee’s Travel & Convenience Center in the country, with 74,000 square feet of convenience store space, more than 120 petrol pumps and a car wash over 250 feet long, the project currently includes an anchor attraction, a major national hotel, restaurants and small attractions.
OE Experiences’ senior team will be present at TEA Inspire this week, The company is looking for new clients who require owner representation, locating projects that require aid in resolving conflict or overcoming challenges, and helping to execute experiential concepts.
