Castore
British premium sportswear brand supplying kits to football, rugby and F1 teams.
On the record
Checkpoint: Statutory accounts for the transitional 18-month period should clarify whether the company made a £40M loss or £30.8M profit
The call
Castore has real revenue and famous logos on its kits, but it is bleeding sponsorship deals to bigger rivals while its own profit figures do not agree with each other.
Castore makes high-end athletic uniforms and apparel, mostly for professional sports teams. The company is struggling because bigger rivals like Nike and Adidas are winning back kit contracts by offering better quality and lower prices, not because they are lazy. The real test comes in the next year or two: if Castore keeps its sponsorship deals with teams like England's cricket and rugby squads, it might prove it can compete; but if those teams switch to Nike or Adidas, the company's brand appeal and profits could collapse.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. AI plays almost no role in kit contracts or sportswear retail; the fight here is fabric quality and sponsorship money, not algorithms. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: Adidas and New Balance. Castore has lost six major kit deals since 2023, including Aston Villa, Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen, to Adidas and New Balance on quality and price. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Remaining sponsorships (McLaren, Red Bull, England Cricket), founder-led brand story, and fresh INEOS-backed capital.
What would change this call
Whether England Cricket, England Rugby, McLaren, Red Bull or Everton renew or drop Castore within 12-18 months. Renewals would support the brand; defections would confirm kit-contract erosion.
Castore's statutory accounts (due within months) confirm profit or loss for the overlapping period. Resolves the £40M loss versus £30.8M profit contradiction and shows true financial health.
Belstaff or Grenson showing margin contribution or a write-down within 12-24 months. Indicates whether the heritage-brand acquisition strategy is working or draining cash.
Castore's statutory accounts (due within months) confirm profit or loss for the overlapping period. Resolves the £40M loss versus £30.8M profit contradiction and shows true financial health.
Belstaff or Grenson showing margin contribution or a write-down within 12-24 months. Indicates whether the heritage-brand acquisition strategy is working or draining cash.
Key numbers
- £334M revenue, up from £190.3M prior year
- Six major kit deals lost since 2023
- £90M credit facility for Middle East and Asia expansion
Named risks
- Conflicting FY financials, £40M loss vs £30.8M profit, unresolved as of July 2026.
- Continued loss of elite football kit contracts due to quality complaints.
- Integration risk from Belstaff and Grenson acquisitions with already-departed Belstaff CEO.
- Headcount contraction of 11.2% in 2025 alongside negative employee sentiment.
- Execution risk on £90M debt-funded Middle East and Asia expansion.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Adidas | losing to | Reclaimed Aston Villa and Newcastle United kit deals from Castore by 2025 |
| New Balance | losing to | Reclaimed Bayer Leverkusen kit contract from Castore, reported June 2025 |
| Umbro | losing to | Rangers moved to Umbro in 2025, though Castore holds Umbro's UK license |
| Nike | contesting | Founders explicitly frame Castore as 'taking on Nike' as of May 2024 |
| Puma | contesting | Named incumbent with structural capacity to compete for same kit contracts |
Questions people ask
- Is Castore profitable in 2026?
- Unclear. Castore reported a £30.8M pre-tax profit for its latest full year in a June 18, 2026 report, but a May 5, 2026 report said the company racked up a £40M annual loss for a transitional 18-month period. The two figures are unresolved as of July 2026.
- Is Castore losing kit deals to Nike or Adidas?
- Yes. Castore lost six major football kit contracts between 2023 and 2025, including Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Wolves, Bayer Leverkusen, Sevilla and Rangers, reportedly amid complaints about sweat retention, tearing and logo peeling, per a June 11, 2025 report.
- Who owns Castore?
- Castore is privately held and founder-controlled by brothers Tom and Phil Beahon, each holding about 18.6% as of August 2021. INEOS took a strategic minority stake in the holding company in August 2025 as part of Castore's acquisition of Belstaff.
- What is Castore's valuation?
- Castore was valued near £950M to $1.2B in a November 2023 growth round of about £145M ($183M) led by The Raine Group, with CB Insights listing it as a $1,205M post-money valuation, supporting its unicorn status.
- Could AI replace Castore's business?
- Not directly. Castore's core assets, exclusive multi-year sponsorship contracts with England Cricket, England Rugby, McLaren F1 and others, plus wholesale relationships with Harrods and Harvey Nichols, are contractual and physical, not AI-substitutable as of July 2026.
- What is Castore's biggest competitor?
- Founders explicitly frame Castore as 'taking on Nike,' with Adidas, New Balance and Puma also named as incumbents that have reclaimed kit deals from Castore, including Aston Villa (Adidas) and Bayer Leverkusen (New Balance) in 2023-2025.
Timeline
- 2026-06Acquired 75-100% stake in 160-year-old British shoemaker Grenson
- 2026-05Secured ~£90M ($122M) credit facility from BNP Paribas, HSBC, Lloyds for expansion
- 2026-05Belstaff CEO Kerry Byrne steps down after Castore acquisition
- 2026-05Reported £40M annual loss for 18-month transitional reporting period
- 2025-08Acquired 100% of Belstaff from INEOS; INEOS takes strategic minority stake
- 2025-06Report details loss of six major football kit deals over 2023-2025
- 2024-03Exclusive licensing deal with GL Dameck to distribute Umbro Professional Team Sports
- 2024-02FY to Feb 4 2024: £190.3M revenue but £28.9M pre-tax loss reported
- 2023-11Raised ~£145M ($183M) growth round led by Raine Group, valuing company near $1.2B
- 2020-01Raised £7.5M from undisclosed private investors
Revision history
29 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Castore
- Cash injection is raising the game at Castore (2024-01-02)
- Castore Stock Price, Funding, Valuation... (2026-06-18)
- Castore completes the acquisition of Belstaff (2025-08-27)
- EXEC: Castore Acquires British Shoe Brand Grenson (2026-06-21)
- How Castore's Tom Beahon went from rejection... (2025-08-29)
- Castore buys 160-year-old Northamptonshire shoe maker (2026-06-18)
- CB Insights: Castore (2026-05-04)
- Crisis at Castore? Brand Has Lost 6 Big Kit Deals in 2 Years (2025-06-11)
- Castore Number of Employees 2026 (2026-06-29)
- Belstaff CEO Steps Down After Castore Acquisition (2026-05-06)
- Our sporting careers failed so we built a £1 billion brand to take on Nike (2024-05-17)