Spinners raises £4m to meet demand for 'competitive socialising'

A leisure chain which aims to capitalise on Britons’ enthusiasm for 'competitive socialising' has secured a multimillion-pound funding injection to accelerate its growth.

Sky News understands that Spinners - which offers games such as bowling, crazy golf, darts and shuffleboard - has struck a deal with investor Gresham House Ventures to provide the new capital. Spinners, which opened its first site in Reading in 2021, now trades from three venues and says it wants to become a UK-wide chain.

Money latest: Nearly half of landlords to raise rent ahead of reforms Its expansion plans reflect the growth of experiential leisure activities, with technology-led innovation in crazy golf and shuffleboard fuelling consumer spending at a time when many traditional pub and nightclub operators are experiencing significant financial pressure. Other businesses which have raised capital to fund rapid growth include F1 Arcade, the Formula One simulator chain, and Red Engine, the group behind Electric Shuffle venues.

Jamie Bylett, founder and director at Spinners, said the funding would "enable us to accelerate our growth, and we look forward to announcing the location of new Spinners venues over the next few months". Francis Ireland, an associate at Gresham House Ventures, said: "With demand for competitive socialising growing rapidly, Spinners has built a strong base of customers at its existing sites.

"We think the business has huge potential for continued expansion as customers seek out activity-based social experiences, so we are excited to be supporting Spinners as it continues to roll out its fantastic venues up and down the country." Gresham House Ventures invests on behalf of the Baronsmead and Mobeus venture capital trusts and is part of Gresham House, the specialist alternative asset management group. The valuation at which it was making its £4m investment was unclear..