Castore (brand)

J.Carter Sporting Club Limited (operating as Castore) is a British manufacturer of sportswear and athletic clothing, headquartered in Manchester, England. The company's products are sold in more than 50 countries worldwide[6] and have sponsorship deals with association football and cricket teams and tennis players.

J.Carter Sporting Club Limited
Castore
TypePLC
IndustryTextile
Founded6 July 2015 (2015-07-06) in Bebington, United Kingdom
Founders
  • Philip Beahon
  • Thomas Beahon
HeadquartersManchester, England, UK[lower-alpha 1][1][2]
Number of locations
7[3] (2022)
Area served
  • Worldwide
  • United Kingdom
Products
BrandsAMC[4]
Number of employees
400[5] (2020)
Websitecastore.com

History

The company was founded in 2015 by brothers Thomas (born September 1989) and Philip Beahon (born November 1992) when they were 25 and 22 years old respectively.[7] Tom had been a professional youth football player for Tranmere Rovers between the ages of 17 and 21 before spending time at Jerez Industrial in Spain and attending the Glenn Hoddle Academy.[7] Phil played semi-professional cricket for Cheshire and Lancashire cricket clubs.[7]

The pair left their playing careers in 2013 and moved to London to work in finance in an effort to raise money for their sportswear venture;[7] Tom worked Lloyds Bank and Phil for Deloitte.[8] During their time in London they began their market research by interviewing patrons of high-end gymnasiums and signing up a number of prolific investors from the fashion and sporting industries.[7] Castore launched online in 2016.[7] In 2019 Forbes listed the pair in their "30 Under 30" list.[9]

Sponsorships
Andy Murray wearing Castore branded items at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships

In January 2019, Castore became the official kit partner to British tennis champion Andy Murray, who also became a shareholder in the company in March of that year.[10] The company brands Murray's products as AMC, and it became the official apparel partner of the Lawn Tennis Association.[11] Marlie Packer, who plays for England's women's rugby union team, is a brand ambassador for Castore.[12] In December 2019, Cricket West Indies signed a three-year deal with Castore to produce their official kit.[13]

In early 2020, Castore secured £7.5 million in funds from undisclosed private investors to help the company move into elite professional football.[14] In May 2020, Castore became the official kit supplier of Scottish Premiership club, Rangers on a five-year deal believed to be worth £25 million.[15][16]

In 2021, McLaren and Castore announced a multi-year deal for them to become the official team apparel and sportswear partner to the McLaren Formula One team.[17] In May 2021, Castore signed a multi-year deal with Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers to become their new on-field partner. This partnership deviated from previous agreements held by the company, with Castore providing the playing staff with kits, while Wolves manufactured and distributed the replica kits under license.[18] In June 2021, it was announced that rugby union side Saracens had agreed a five-year supply deal with Castore ahead of their return to Premiership Rugby in the 2021–22 season. The deal will also see them supply Saracens' women's team and Saracens Mavericks netball team.[19] In July 2021, Castore signed a multi-year deal with Premier League club Newcastle United to become their new kit manufacturer.[20]

In September 2021, it was announced that the England and Wales Cricket Board signed a ten-year deal with Castore worth £25 million to become the official kit supplier, starting from April 2022.[21] .It was also announced that Cricket South Africa signed a three-year deal with Castore to produce their official kit.[22]

In December, 2021, it was also announced that Kent County Cricket Club will be sponsored by Castore - beginning in the 2022 season.[23]

Football

Australian Rules Football

Rugby League

National teams

Club teams

National teams

Club teams

Tennis

Motor Racing

Netball

Golf

Swimming

Ownership

As of August 2021, the company has 33 shareholders with the largest being the two founders, each with 18.59%, and Monte Group (Jersey) LTD[lower-alpha 2] with 15%.[29] Other shareholders of the company include Robert Senior (former CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi), Tom Singh (founder of New Look), YOOX Net-a-Porter Group investor Arnaud Massenet, and tennis player Andy Murray.[10]

Stores

The company has an outlet store in London's King's Road that opened in November 2019 as well as concessions in department stores.[3][30] A Liverpool store followed in the Liverpool One complex.[31] Additional stores have opened in Cannock, Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Livingston, and Newcastle upon Tyne.[3]

As part of their partnership with Rangers, Castore are involved with their Ibrox club store and the Buchanan Galleries store.[32]

Footnotes
  1. Between the inception of the business and mid-2021 the company headquarters were located in and around Liverpool, Merseyside.
  2. Monte Group is an investment company owned by Mohsin and Zuber Issa of EG Group.[28]

References
  1. "Registered office address changed". Companies House. Castore. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. "Terms and Conditions". Castore Sportswear. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  3. "Our Stores". Castore. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  4. "The Andy Murray Collection". Castore. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  5. "Total exemption full accounts made up to 31 January 2020". Companies House. J.Carter Sporting Club Limited. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Houghton, Tom (2021-04-28). "Brothers set to take on the world with their luxury sportswear brand". Business Live. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  7. Gavin, Dearbhla (23 September 2019). "The young brothers who signed up Andy Murray". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2019-09-23. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  8. Houghton, Tom (2 January 2020). "The ex-athlete brothers who signed Andy Murray now taking on the world with luxury sportswear brand Castore". BusinessLive. Archived from the original on 2020-01-02. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  9. "Castore". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2021-07-19. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  10. Wightman-Stone, Danielle (7 March 2019). "Andy Murray becomes shareholder in sportswear brand Castore". FashionUnited. Archived from the original on 2019-12-02. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  11. "LTA enhance commercial programme with long-term AMC apparel deal". Lawn Tennis Association. 13 November 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-11-13. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  12. Hardcastle, Jenny (20 May 2020). "Introducing England Rugby Player - Marlie Packer". Castore. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  13. "CASTORE SPORTSWEAR: OFFICIAL KIT PARTNER FOR WI TEAMS". Cricket West Indies. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. Imms, Katie (17 February 2020). "Castore secures £7.5m to support expansion". Drapers. Archived from the original on 2021-07-19. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  15. Moore, Joe (19 May 2020). "Castore co-founder Tom Beahon teases plans for new 2020/21 Rangers kits after signing £25million deal with Scottish Premiership giants". talkSPORT. Wireless Group. Archived from the original on 2020-05-27. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  16. Coleman, Joe (1 July 2020). "Rangers unveil new home kit designed by Castore for 2020/21 season with launch featuring emotional fan video". talkSPORT. Wireless Group. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  17. "CASTORE BECOMES OFFICIAL TEAM APPAREL AND SPORTSWEAR PARTNER FOR THE McLAREN FORMULA 1 TEAM". McLaren. 4 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  18. "Castore unveiled as Wolves' on-field partner in landmark deal". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 21 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-05-21. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  19. Shapley, Oli (22 June 2021). "SARACENS AGREE MULTI-YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH CASTORE AS NEW ERA BACK IN PREMIERSHIP BEGINS". Saracens F.C. Archived from the original on 2021-06-22. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  20. "Newcastle United announces Castore partnership". Newcastle United F.C. 2 July 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  21. "Castore confirmed as Official Kit Supplier to England Cricket". England and Wales Cricket Board. 13 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-09-14. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  22. "CSA WELCOMES CASTORE AS ITS OFFICIAL APPAREL PARTNER". Cricket South Africa. 30 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-01-03. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  23. "KENT CRICKET PARTNERS WITH CASTORE AHEAD OF 2022 SEASON". Kent Cricket. 14 December 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  24. "Exclusive: Aston Villa to Sign Castore Kit Deal".
  25. "Sevilla FC to Sign Castore Kit Deal".
  26. "CASTORE IS THE NEW BAYER 04 KIT PARTNER UNTIL 2027".
  27. "DPG Media Privacy Gate".
  28. Robinson, Jon (19 May 2021). "Billionaire brothers 'take major stake' in sportswear brand Castore". Business Live. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  29. "Confirmation statement made on 8 August 2021 with updates". Companies House. J.Carter Sporting Club Limited. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. Fearon, Faye (13 November 2019). "Castore has opened its first store on King's Road (and it's filled with an Andy Murray collection)". GQ. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 2019-11-14. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  31. "Castore opens bigger store at Liverpool ONE". Property Funds World. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  32. Hendry, Mark (12 October 2020). "Castore confirm new Rangers store to open in Buchanan Galleries but no launch date set". Glasgow Times. Archived from the original on 2020-10-16. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
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