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Gillesberger occupancy cost

ItemCurrent input
Net base rent€2,975/month plus VAT
Other charges, snow clearing and wasteAbout €350/month; estimate from landlord discussion
Known occupancy subtotalAbout €3,325/month or €39,900/year, excluding VAT, utilities and unresolved items

Still missing: HVAC installation and energy, insurance, alarm/monitoring, internet, repairs and inspections.

Working assumption: six months without base rent. This would be worth €17,850 net. A nine-month opening programme would then incur about €8,925 net base rent before opening, plus about €3,150 of other charges and all utilities. The concession is not agreed.

Investment and cash model

ItemCurrent decision
Target capital€200,000 all-in; approximately €250,000 is available only if required
FundingEquity contribution to a VAT-registered GmbH; no repayment
Opening targetWithin nine months of lease commencement
IncludedDeposit, approvals, construction, targeted HVAC, shared areas, three rooms, launch marketing, contingency and working capital
Break-even definitionRecurring cash costs covered before founder pay, corporation tax and recovery of the initial capital

The €200,000 plan must carry the three-room venue to operating break-even. Recoverable input VAT is not a permanent cost, but the cash plan must allow for refund timing.

Spend first on approvals, HVAC, partitions, electrical/fire requirements and safe elevated structures. The founders will self-build scenery, puzzles, electronics and control software. Furniture, antiques, props and themed materials can be sourced through auctions and insolvency sales; no saving is counted until an item is acquired. Safety-critical work and load-bearing structures remain professional work.

A full allocation and working-capital requirement still need HVAC, electrical/fire and approval quotes plus a three-room demand model.

First build-cost reserve

Planning snapshot — 12 August 2026. Net amounts, not quotes. These allowances cover the three game rooms and approximately 35–40 m² of reception/waiting area. They are deliberately broad until one scaled approval layout and contractor scope exist.

PackageInitial reserveIncluded at this stage
Drywall and room-forming€30,000–€55,000 netPartitions, limited ceilings, acoustic/fire-rated build-ups and doors; mix of professional work and safe owner work
Heating, cooling and fresh air€40,000–€65,000 netZoned heating/cooling, heat-recovery ventilation, ducts, silencers, controls, penetrations, electrical connection, design and commissioning
Combined reserve€70,000–€120,000 netEarly feasibility range before comparable quotes

The drywall allowance is consistent with broad Austrian 2026 guide prices of roughly €40–€80/m² for simple walls, €50–€104/m² for double-stud walls and €42–€95/m² for suspended ceilings (Daibau cost guide). The project mix may cost more because escape-room partitions can need certified fire, acoustic, door and penetration details.

Residential multi-split examples are only a lower-bound comparison: current Austrian guides put a five-room system around €8,000–€13,000 gross, before a commercial fresh-air system (Aroundhome cost guide). Manufacturer pricing for heat-recovery units in the required order of magnitude is already around €10,000–€12,500 before ducts, installation and controls (Pichler Austria 2025 price list). The €40,000–€65,000 allowance therefore covers a complete commercial package rather than air-conditioning units alone.

The combined reserve leaves approximately €80,000–€130,000 of the €200,000 target for the deposit, approvals, electrical/fire work, room builds, guest area, marketing, contingency and working capital. It excludes any accessible-WC conversion and substantial elevated steel/platform structures. Those items must be added after the authority and structural review.

Immediate quote inputs: scaled layout, occupancy of 20 guests plus staff, room heat loads, operating hours, acoustic limits, outdoor-unit position, duct/penetration routes, required fire ratings and clear separation of owner-supplied work.

Pricing benchmark

Snapshot — 12 August 2026. Own prices are not yet selected.

Vorchdorf product2 players3 players4 players5 players6 players
Standard 60-minute room€74€93€108€120€132
Premium 100-minute room€165€165€184€220€252

The current direction is to align the two 60-minute rooms with the regional market and charge a premium for the 90-minute flagship. Exact prices require the finished product and cost model. Source: Escape-House Vorchdorf booking calendar.

Operator benchmarks

Snapshot — 6 August 2026. Balance-sheet benchmarks, not project forecasts.

OperatorEvidence retainedPlanning lesson
Escape-House, VorchdorfOpened with three rooms in 2017. Launch fixed-asset additions were about €270,900 and the first-period loss was about €41,500. The 2024 balance sheet showed €485,300 cash and €388,100 equity; the approximately €110,400 current result was calculated from disclosed balance-profit figures.Strong regional success case, but capital-heavy rather than a lean-startup benchmark.
Kaiser Escape, MicheldorfOpened with two rooms in 2021 and now offers four indoor rooms plus outdoor games. The 2024 balance sheet showed approximately –€10,500 equity and €184,100 liabilities.More rooms do not, by themselves, prove profitability or financial resilience.
  • Current plan: Open with three differentiated rooms, operate booking-led and founder-led, and preserve working capital inside the €200,000 target.

The complete Austrian operator financial screen retains the 10 August 2026 research for all 44 identified entities: 19 provisional financial ratings and 25 explicitly marked not rateable from public accounts.

Sources