Sportswear disruptor Castore made a loss of over £40m in the 18 months to the 3rd of August 2025.
The company, which turns 10 this August, switched to the 18-month period to align its reporting with the annual sporting season.
Chief executive and founder Tom Beahon said: “The challenging macro environment combined with our long term view of value creation and therefore desire to continue investing in value accretive opportunities has resulted in a short term impact in profitability.
“We are comfortable with this based on our confidence in the core business model, long term industry growth drivers and the Group’s long term profit potential.
“We will continue to invest in the business as long as we see long term value opportunities and believe this mindset remains a core competitive advantage to our business and shareholders.”
The directors did not recommend the payment of any dividends.
READ MORE: Tofu titan undergoes first brand redesign in over a decade
Founded in Liverpool in 2016 by brothers Tom and Phil Beahon and now HQ’d in Manchester, Castore makes sports apparel for football, rugby and cricket clubs and also operates in tennis, with backing from Andy Murray, and Formula One.
Current partners include McLaren F1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, England Cricket Board, Everton Football Club, Glasgow Rangers, Bayer Leverkusen, Feyenoord, Sevilla FC, Athletic Club (Bilbao), Saracens Rugby, Harlequins, Bath Rugby, Scarlets, and Republic of Ireland Football (FAI).
In August 2025, Castore acquired heritage fashion brand Belstaff as part of a deal with Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos group which valued Belstaff at £102 million, and the firm said in its latest report that more acquisitions could be forthcoming, in part thanks to a £15m shares issue and a rolling credit facility with HSBC, BNP Paribas and Lloyds which is also driving new retail openings across the UK and expansion into key Middle Eastern and Asian markets;
“[We will] selectively advance our acquisition strategy, looking to invest in premium, high quality durables brands who will benefit from being part of our Group infrastructure and whose earnings we can compound over the long term,” Castore said.
The accounts also revealed that Castore’s first acquisition, a 2024 deal to buy Leeds branded merchandise and uniform supplier Infinity, cost £2.2m. That deal followed a £145 million investment in November 2023, raised through The Raine Group, Felix Capital and Hanaco Ventures.
Also in 2024, Castore acquired the Umbro Professional Team Sports sub-license in a partnership with GL Dameck which will see it market and supply the Umbro brand across Europe.
Castore currently employs 776 people worldwide.
