Bounce announces second London site and international expansion

Ping pong entertainment concept Bounce is opening a second site in London and its first in the US following the success of its flagship site in Holborn. 

Bounce Shoreditch will open on Old Street in October within a previously disused basement space. 

Like the original Bounce, which opened in October 2012, the Shoreditch site will be designed by Russell Sage and will offer dining and drinking options alongside ping pong tables. 

Plans for the new venue include 17 ping pong tables, one of which will be the 2014 World Championship Final table from Tokyo, a restaurant overlooked by a 25 foot pizza counter and cocktail bar and a private room with three ping pong tables and dedicated cocktail bar. 

Bounce chief executive and co-founder Adam Breeden although he had been confident his ping pong-focused 'social entertainment venue' would be a success, he had been overwhelmed by its popularity with a nine-week wait for a table common for many customers. 

“We were confident Bounce would be well received as a concept, but even I was astounded at the impact the flagship site has had on the London social scene. Our initial business plan was outperformed by 300 per cent and the demand has simply been phenomenal,” he said. 

“Our vision for Bounce’s second London location is to create a place that defines the Shoreditch of tomorrow and not just another venue that feels the need to ‘fit in’. Our second London venue has been two and a half years and £3.5m in the making – we wanted our second baby to be at least as impactful as our first."

Bounce Shoreditch will be followed by the opening of the company's first site in the US. Bounce Chicago will open in early 2016 in what was originally designed to be the grand ballroom of the Shangri-La hotel. 

It is expected to be the first of many new Stateside Bounce sites. The operator has already identified another five US cities where it would like to operate sites.  

There are also plans to expand to the Far East with Hong Kong and Tokyo on the radar for sites to open in 2017.