• #88

EXPERIENCE CO LIMITED ASX:EXP

Experience Co Limited (ASX:EXP) is an adventure tourism company founded in 1999 with the vision of now becoming the largest and most respected adventure tourism company in the world. Experience Co offer adventure experiences of tandem skydiving, hot air ballooning, white water rafting, canyoning, sea kayaking, and tours to the Great Barrier Reef. The company currently has numerous locations throughout Australia and New Zealand.

  • Company History
    • Company Vision

      Experience Co (ASX:EXP) is an adventure tourism company. Formerly Skydive the Beach Group (ASX:SKB), the company and brand reflects our vision and business strategy of offering high quality and memorable adventure tourism experiences. The vision of the company is to become the largest and most respected adventure tourism company in the world.

    • Our business

      Since our start in 1999 in Wollongong, Australia, our company has immersed adventurers from all over the world in incredible experiences, building a reputation for safety, friendliness and excellence. We began in 1999 by offering tandem skydives on North Wollongong beach under the name Skydive the Beach, and then in 2015 we listed the company on the ASX to enable further growth. Now operating as Experience Co (ASX:EXP), we manage 17 skydiving drop zones across Australia and three in New Zealand. We also provide hot air ballooning throughout Australia, and the products of white water rafting, sea kayaking, canyoning and boat tours to the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland, Australia.

    • Milestones

      1999: Skydive the Beach commenced operations with the first drop zone in Wollongong, Australia.
      2010: Hunter Valley drop zone commences operations.
      2011: St Kilda and Central Coast drop zones commences operations.
      2011: Acquired an Australian aircraft maintenance facility to service the Australian aircraft fleet
      2012: Great Ocean Road drop zone commences operations and two more are acquired in Yarra Valley Victoria and York Western Australia.
      2013: Perth city and Rockingham drop zones commences operations; Skydive the Beach forms a company to become the holding company for all the SKB Group operations.
      2014: Airlie Beach drop zone is acquired and another drop zone in Newcastle commences operations.
      2015 (March): Skydive the Beach Group Limited (ASX:SKB) completes an initial public offering (IPO) and listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:SKB) – it’s oversubscribed, raising $25 million. Funds from the IPO are used to acquire Australia Skydive.
      2015 (October): A successful capital raise via an accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer enables SKB to enter New Zealand, acquiring Skydive Queenstown Group (trading as NZone Skydive and Skydive Paradise).
      2016 (June): A successful capital raise via an institutional placement enables SKB to acquire Skydive Wanaka.
      2016 (October): A successful capital raise via an accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer enables SKB to complete its first non-skydiving adventure tourism acquisition, acquiring Raging Thunder Adventures (RT). RT offer white water rafting, sea kayaking, hot air ballooning, canyoning and boat tours to the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland, Australia.
      2016 (October): Acquired a New Zealand aircraft maintenance facility to service the NZ aircraft fleet
      2017 (April): SKB acquires Reef Magic Cruises (RMC) using a bank finance facility provided by National Australia Bank. RMC’s primary product is Marine World Outer Reef Cruise which travels to the outer Great Barrier Reef, and it includes snorkelling, glass bottom boat experiences, semi-submersible tours and catering.
      2017 (August): SKB acquire Byron Bay Balloons in Byron Bay, New South Wales.
      2017 October): The company changes its name from Skydive the Beach Group Limited to Experience Co Limited.
      2017 (October): The company changes its ASX code from SKB to EXP.
      2017 (October): Acquired Great Barrier Reef Helicopters
      2017 (December): Acquired Tropical Journeys and Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises

  • Board and management

    The Board of Directors has been selected for its extensive relevant experience and expertise, including operational and industry knowledge, law, financial management, accounting, business knowledge and corporate governance.

    • Anthony Boucaut Investors

      Anthony Boucaut

      Executive Director

      Anthony has over 20 years' experience in the skydiving industry and over 25 years' experience in the aviation industry. The Skydive the Beach concept and vision was the result of Anthony's passion for skydiving and love of sharing extreme adventures with others. During his final year of university, Anthony formed a business known as Adrenalin Sports Skydiving, which became Skydive the Beach, now known as Experience Co. The first tandem skydives over North Wollongong beach were conducted in July 1999.
    • Bob East

      Bob East

      Chair of the Board

      Bob East has more than 20 years’ experience in the tourism industry, most recently serving as the CEO of the Mantra Group for 12 years where he led the company to a successful ASX listing in June 2014 and the $1.3B acquisition by Accor Hotels in 2018. Bob East is Chair of Tourism Australia and a Non-Executive Director of GCFC Limited (Gold Coast Football Club). His extensive experience includes serving on the boards of the Gold Coast Tourism Corporation, Queensland Tourism Industry Council, Tourism Accommodation Australia, Tourism and Events Queensland and the Tourism and Transport Forum. Bob holds an MBA and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
    • john diddams Investors

      John Diddams

      Non-Executive Director

      John has over 30 years of financial and management experience as CFO, CEO and director of both private and public listed companies. John is the principal of a CPA firm that provides corporate advisory services to SME and mid-cap companies, including management of the process to raise equity capital, the due diligence process and listing on the ASX.
    • Col Hughs

      Col Hughes

      Non-Executive Director

      Col has more than 40 years tourism experience across leading international brands, including several airline and tourism organisations. Col is currently Chairman of Business Events Sydney, an Executive Director of Airline Representation Group, Aviation Online and a Board member for Best Western Hotels Australia. He also serves as a Member on the Board of Trustees for the Travel Compensation Fund.
    • GATEWAY Kemp O 021

      Owen Kemp

      Chief Financial Officer

      Owen Kemp is an experienced CFO for ASX listed companies and has 18 years’ experience in the accounting and finance sector. Prior to joining Experience Co, Owen was CFO of Gateway Lifestyle Ltd, (ASX: GTY), an ASX200 listed company and was responsible for finance, investor relations and IT functions. This role included a transformation of the finance function, and improving disclosure and transparency in investor communications. For over a decade Owen worked in Ernst & Young's transaction advisory businesses in Sydney and London advising private equity and corporate clients. Owen holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Graduate Diploma in Accountancy from University of Canberra and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia.