Castore's distinctive logo is fast becoming one of the most recognised around the globe thanks to its plethora of sponsorship deals across the sporting world.
The Manchester apparel company is gaining prominence this summer through its kit deal with the England cricket team while it also has high-profile agreements with the likes of F1 outfit Red Bull and Premier League club Newcastle United, to name but a few.
The far-reaching international deals it has so far scooped up has helped the brand increase its sales by almost 300% over the last year and be named as Britain's second fastest-growing private company.
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As Castore looks to become one of the city's latest success stories, the Manchester Evening News has taken a look at how two brothers came to found the business, managed to secure high-profile backers and what the future may hold.
How it all started
Castore was set up by brothers Phil and Tom Beahon after they quit their jobs as athletes.
After leaving Wirral Grammar School, Phil went to study law at Newcastle University, while Tom signed a professional contract with the brothers’ boyhood heroes Tranmere Rovers.
Growing up, both Tom and Phil were football mad. And with their granddad being Joseph Beahon, who played for a number of clubs throughout his career including Bolton Wanderers, the sport is very much in the family.
Speaking about his decision to sign a professional contract with the Super Whites on his 17th birthday, Tom told BusinessLive: "You progress through the age ranks, and you start to realise that this could be a bit more than just enjoyment.
"It was a big decision for any young person. My mum's a teacher, so to forego further education and go into the precarious world of professional sport was quite a big decision.
"With hindsight, despite not ending up playing at the highest level, I would never swap that experience for the world.”
Playing professional football, Tom’s upbringing was vastly different to others in his friendship group including brother Phil.
"It was a shock being thrust into a world where it's incredibly results driven, incredibly competitive.
"Tranmere were in League One back then, like they are now - and in that league, players aren't playing to earn £100k a week, they're playing to pay their mortgage. As a 17-year-old, that’s quite a challenging situation to go into.
"As I look back and think now what we've started with Castore, that skillset of being very driven, very motivated, but being used to deal with pressure and in a challenging environment, playing football was a far better training ground for that than going to university."
Tom stayed at Rovers until he was 20, when he moved to play in Spain at the Glenn Hoddle Academy, going on to play for lower league side Jerez.
Tom played right up until the age of 24, when he retired from the game after snapping his groin, moving back to the UK shortly after.
Tom wasn’t the only one obsessed with football - and Rovers - as Phil also played for the Super Whites up until the age of 15.
But Phil wasn’t able to progress and instead moved into cricket, where he was paid to play but could never break into the very top level. Phil left cricket before deciding to apply to university.
Soon after graduating in 2014, Phil joined Deloitte, spending two years as part of the corporate finance team in London, working on the sales of businesses for deals between £5m and £25m.
At the same time, Tom worked in a leveraged finance team at Lloyds looking at "slightly bigger deals".
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Castore is born
The brothers launched the business in August 2016 with a £25,000 loan from their parents, who both remortgaged their homes.
Like most new businesses, the start was a slog - but it soon reaped its rewards.
The pair secured a first round of investment of £750,000 from individuals including none other than Tom Singh, the founder of high street chain New Look, as well as Arnaud Massenet, founder of fashion portal Net-a-Porter.
They were then able to attract British tennis star Murray as a shareholder and board advisor for the business.
Together, the two-time Wimbledon champion and the brothers have launched a collaborative tennis line called AMC, all made from regenerated nylon and recycled yarn, and which Murray wears exclusively for all on-court activities.
Castore is also backed by the billionaire Issa brothers, the owners of supermarket giant Asda and petrol station giant EG Group.
Growth, growth and more growth
Castore officially relocated its headquarters from Liverpool to One Central Street in Manchester city centre in June 2021.
In April that year, BusinessLive had reported that the firm had signed a 13-year lease with landlord Kinrise to occupy all available workspace – c.22,100 sq ft - within the building across five floors.
Castore relocated all its staff from Liverpool to Manchester and said at the time that it expected to create a further 300 jobs in the city in the next two years.
In September 2022, Castore was valued a £750m after it received a £50m boost.
At the time the company said the deal would give it additional levels of liquidity to "further support the group's strategic growth ambitions" and lengthen the maturity of its committed debt facilities, "enhancing Castore's financial flexibility".
Its valuation was boosted even further just a few months later when it agreed a larger funding deal.
According to newly-revealed figures, Castore's sales surged to £115m in the year to the end of January 2023.
That compares with the £48.8m it achieved in the prior 12 months and the £17m in the year before that.
In May this year, the business outlined plans to increase its sales to $250m for its current financial period as it set its sights on further European expansion.
