Go Ape continues climb down from Covid-19 pandemic high

The financial performance of Go Ape continued its post-pandemic climb down following the “exceptional demand” it experienced as the UK came out of the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The employee-owned adventure group, which is headquartered in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, has reported a fall in its revenue by eight per cent in 2023 to £27.5m.

The decrease comes after its revenue also fell by 27 per cent in 2022.

Go Ape, which runs almost 40 sites across the UK, added that its visitor numbers fell by eight per cent to 1.2m because of “exceptional demand experienced in 2021 following national lockdowns, which continued into 2022”.

Its visitor numbers also fell by 16 per cent in 2022.

Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show that Go Ape’s pre-tax profit was cut from £10.9m to £3.5m in 2023.

During the year, Go Ape opened two locations in Blackburn, Lancashire, and Chelmsford, Essex.

The average number of people employed by the company also rose from 898 to 968.

Go Ape was founded in 2002 by husband and wife team Tristram and Rebecca Mayhew and has been employed owned since 2021.

The company is 90 per cent owned by the employee ownership trust while Tristram and Rebecca Mayhew hold five per cent each.

Earlier this year, former Army captain Tristram Mayhew was n made an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours.

The businessman has been recognised for his services to young people and youth empowerment.