New sub-brand will help to drive projects forward in the Experience Economy

OE Experiences, a financial consulting and business management firm that specialises in the experience economy, has announced the launch of a new internal investment entity to drive projects forward, called OE Development.

“A portion of our business has been consulting with entities who wish to develop their concepts and need capital,” says Matthew Cross, CEO of OE Experiences. “While we will continue to develop those concepts with outside investors there are times, especially on smaller projects, where we want to be more proactive. OE Development provides structure and process for us to directly invest our own capital and manifest projects without being subject to external groups and market conditions.”

“Lenders continue to need assistance underwriting entertainment and experiential concepts,” adds Lewis Frazer, CFO of OE Experiences. “This is something I had to overcome during Regal Cinemas’ radical growth in the nineties, and a big part of lenders being comfortable with a project is knowing who is involved and their skin in the game.

“OE Development allows us to ‘put our money where our mouth is’ and stand with our partners and clients in front of a lender and say we believe this will work, and to shift their focus onto the revenue potential that really drives investor value in these businesses.  Successfully offering a compelling experience provides the superior risk-adjusted returns that turns the wheel on advancing projects from paper to reality.”

Helping new experiences succeed

Three projects with specified sites are presently in the works at OE Development. One relates to hospitality, while the other two are food and beverage concepts.

“The Experience Economy is everywhere,” says Cross. “While we have our foundations in the skillsets of themed entertainment and attractions, our play area is much wider including retail, F&B, and experiential hospitality.”

Referring to Joe Pine’s The Experience Economy, he adds: “The market is embracing the ideas and languages of cross-disciplinary teams to enhance customer, or participant, outcomes – to use the experience language vernacular! It’s an exciting time to be a developer and consumer of experiences, with the best yet to come. OE Development is another step on our growth to fill market needs we’ve identified that will advance tomorrow’s best-in-class concepts.”

OE Experiences successfully monetizes the Experience Economy. It works as an advisor, owners’ agent, and co-developer on immersive dining, themed hospitality, and location-based entertainment projects all around the country.

Last year, the firm shared that a study by EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR) had found that new experiential enterprises worth more than $100 billion are underfunded and waiting to launch. In a world where financiers and investors often don’t understand how to value an immersive concept, OE Experiences has built a reputation for helping new experiential businesses get off the ground.