Spider Entertainment has appointed Sally Reynolds as chief operating officer. The appointment is the company’s first major hire and is a Group role that covers both the attraction business and the strategy services division.
Since 2017, Reynolds has been the Chief Executive of Silverstone Heritage Limited, the charity responsible for developing, designing, delivering and running the Silverstone Interactive Museum which was officially opened by the Duke of Sussex and Sir Lewis Hamilton in March 2020. She is also a Non-Executive Director for Willows Activity Farm, the largest farm attraction in the UK with circa 500k visits a year. Reynolds will retain these roles as part of the agreement.
Founder Rob Hetherington said: “Having only recently launched Spider, we are delighted to have attracted such a respected and talented Director so quickly into our journey. Sally is highly regarded within the industry for her roles at Silverstone, Merlin and Woburn, and her leadership will be invaluable as we aim to bring our first attractions to market in early 2022”.
Spider has two key divisions; The Attractions business develops owns and operates its own attractions and has recently launched its first round of fund raising. The business will undertake leases to open a unique entertainment concept in the leading Shopping malls across the UK, Europe, America and the Middle East. The Strategy Services business provides expert advice to Landlords and IP owners on Feasibility, Design, Operations and Technology planning.
Hetherington said “What makes Spider different is that as well as advising on entertainment strategies, we also operate attractions for IP owners and uniquely, bring our own attractions to market, Our clients benefit from this unique insight because they know that we only recommend solutions that we would invest in, or operate ourselves”.
Reynolds said ‘I’m delighted to be joining Spider at such an exciting time for the Out of Home Entertainment industry as it emerges post pandemic with an amazing array of new, innovative and immersive experiences in the pipeline. I am looking forward to working with the Spider team to launch our first sites, incorporating the best of these in 2022.’
Whilst the Spider name is relatively new to the market, Hetherington has assembled a seasoned team of “Founding Partners” with significant expertise and experience in developing profitable, successful entertainment strategies for IP owners, investors and landlords, Reynolds will join this Founding Partners group.
Hetherington concluded, “The demand for Out of Home Entertainment was growing rapidly even before lockdown and we are definitely experiencing an ‘Entertainment Explosion’. Our Strategy Services Business continues to help clients maximise their entertainment offer and our Attraction’s Business has recently begun investment discussions around its fund raise. We will be opening our first competitive socialising entertainment sites in early 2022, perfectly satisfying the pent-up demand for people looking for a great and varied day or evening out post lockdown”.