From hiding in train toilets to a £1bn business: How Castore plan to use football to challenge the big boys

Exclusive interview with co-founder of Castore, Tom Beahon

Castore has grown into a £1bn business (GETTY IMAGES)

Hiding in train toilets to save money is very much a thing of the past for Tom and Phil Beahon.

When the Bebington brothers took a leap of faith in 2015 and decided to go all in on creating their own sportswear brand the odds were very much stacked against them.

A marketplace that was dominated by the behemoths of Nike and Adidas seemed a daunting prospect to try and crack. But the brothers, then 25 and 22 respectively, believed that there was a gap in the market that wasn’t being served by the ‘big boys’.

Significant hurdles lay in their way, though, not least the fact that they had no experience in the clothing industry or relationships they could leverage, including when it came to raising capital to get the business off the ground.

Both had finished their university studies and decided to pool their resources and limited savings and begin knocking on the factory doors of clothing manufacturers across Europe in the hope that someone would share their vision for what their brand would be.

And so, Castore, a play on the Greek twin brothers of Castor and Pollux, was born. With a little help from some funding via the Virgin Start Up Scheme championed by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, the roadmap was set out.

After the company secured a £150m investment from Raine Group, Felix Capital and Hanaco Ventures, the Bottom Line sat down with co-founder Tom Beahon to discuss the Castore journey, the bumps in the road, and what the plan is for the future. The full story is available to Bottom Line subscribers.