Pubs drive record half-year results for SpeedQuizzing

A surge in pubs and bars embracing tech to elevate their entertainment programmes has led to York-headquartered quiz tech company SpeedQuizzing recording its strongest ever half-year results.

The company, which creates and sells software used by publicans and entertainment professionals to host interactive, fast-paced in-venue and online pub quizzes, has seen demand for its quiz activations and digital question packs soar in the first half of 2022.

It recorded record revenues of £430,000 over the first six months of this year - a 120% increase on the same period last year and just 25% less than the revenue the company achieved over the entire of 2021.

Its online platform and app are now used in pubs and bars to host approximately 1,200 quizzes every week – with a further 300 weekly quizzes running in over 40 countries, including the USA, Australia and South Africa.

As a result of surging sales, SpeedQuizzing is on track to become a million-pound business by the end of this year – with the second half of the year, buoyed by student entertainment programmes, expected to be even stronger than the first, in common with previous years.

It cites the fightback in the hospitality and entertainment sectors following a challenging two years as being the main trigger behind the surge in demand it has seen - with publicans increasingly looking at how tech can revolutionise their entertainment programmes to offer new experiences and attract more customers.

Phil Qua, operations manager at SpeedQuizzing, said: “We’re finding that pubs and bars are increasingly turning to quizzes rather than live sport to drive footfall and sales on traditionally quieter nights of the week.

“This, coupled with more pubs embracing tech to deliver new entertainment and experiences, has meant we’ve seen a real surge in demand for our software, with SpeedQuizzing events more popular than ever after the Covid-enforced hiatus.”

Landlord Mark Pinckney from The Deramore Arms in York said: “From taking the faff out of preparing for and hosting quizzes, through to driving some of our biggest crowds of the week, SpeedQuizzing has transformed our pub quiz night.

“Since we started hosting SpeedQuizzing nights in 2018, we’ve seen a huge swell in the number of people coming down to take part and we’re now at the point where we’re averaging about 16 teams and close to 100 people every time.”

The company recently launched its first-ever national advertising campaign, in partnership with TV’s Paul Sinha, aimed at helping more people to find their nearest smartphone pub quiz through SQFinder.com. SpeedQuizzing is the only quiz provider to publicly promote individual events on behalf of pubs and bars, and its giant billboards advertising the site can currently be seen next to some of the UK’s busiest motorways.