It’s that holly, jolly season, which means Australia’s workers are now staring down the barrel of an office Christmas party (attendance mandatory). For many employees, the idea of closing out the year by sharing a pizza with the accounts team is another example of the increasingly irrelevance of the traditional work environment.

Entertainment venue operator Funlab is very conscious of the idea that organised fun with colleagues can seem like no fun at all. But more than two decades of activating retail spaces with competitive socialising brands including Strike bowling, Holey Moley minigolf and more contemporary examples like Hijinx Hotel escape rooms means that it’s proven out the space. 

Funlab head of property Zak Gelfand told The Urban Developer that corporate events are “an important part of our business”, and a surge in investment activity since the 2020 acquisition by private equity owners TPG Capital also shows that there’s plenty of room for the office Christmas party market here and abroad. 

The new cool