Anyone can do it – from the kitchen table to billion-pound firm

Hear from Tom Beahon as he shares how he and his brother launched Castore, the world’s first premium performance sportswear apparel brand for men.

Castore

Castore was founded in 2015 by brothers Thomas and Philip Beahon, aged just 25 and 22 respectively at the time of Castore’s launch.

Tom and Phil were initially rejected from business investors as their initial business plan didn’t seem to resonate as they talked about taking on the big players in the industry. They started with two personal loans and re-mortgaged their parents’ house, packing their first orders from their kitchen table.

The first break was with the Scottish Premier League side Rangers, who were the first major partner Castore signed up and with whom they have gone on to develop a hugely successful business relationship. This close partnership happened organically as the club quickly fell in love with the products that Castore offered, showing there really was a gap in the market and needs to fulfil.

Now Castore has headquarters in Manchester and a European HQ in Rotterdam, with a staff count of 550.

In 2019 Castore became the official kit partner to tennis champion Andy Murray, who became a shareholder in the company the same year.

By 2020, Castore raised £7.5 million from private investors to move into elite professional football. It was this investment which led to them becoming the official kit supplier of Rangers on a five-year deal in 2020.

Alongside further deals involving numerous football, rugby and cricket clubs including Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle United and Saracens - in 2021 Castore announced a multi-year deal with McLaren to become official team apparel partner to the Formula One team.

Since then, Castore had expanded their reach even further and had signed deals with an impressive array of sports teams including Sevilla in La Liga,Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, Worcestershire Country Cricket Club and Red Bull Racing.

Tom Beahon

Tom and his brother were raised in Bebington, Merseyside, by their science teacher mum, Anna and dad Steve who worked in construction.

Prior to launching Castore, Tom spent three years at Lloyds Bank, where he worked as an Associate Director in Acquisition Finance Origination.

Tom was a professional youth football player for Tranmere from age 17-21. Tom spent time at Jerez Industrial in Spain and attended the Glenn Hoddle Academy.

In 2019, Forbes listed Tom and Phil in their “30 under 30” list.

There will be refreshments served with the opportunity for networking before the lecture for those attending in person at Alliance MBS.

Vital Topics is Alliance MBS' series of prestigious business lectures, bringing powerful ideas and original thinking to audiences from the Manchester city-region and beyond.

Find out more about Vital Topics here.

This is a hybrid event that will also be streamed online - please select your preferred option when you register and you will be sent the relevant joining instructions a few days before the event.

Host or Publisher Alliance Manchester Business School