The twin brothers behind tech-enabled social sports chains like Puttshack and Topgolf have scored $34m in funding for their new venture, Poolhouse.
British founders Steve and Dave Jolliffe sold their high-tech driving range business Topgolf to American sports equipment giant Callaway for $2bn in 2020, and found further success with Puttshack, an indoor mini-golf chain which counts BlackRock and Promethean Investments among its backers.
Now the pair are hoping to revolutionise the game of pool, adding bonus challenges and strategic tips through tracking technology and video screens. Poolhouse marks their latest bet on the rapidly-growing “competitive socialising” (CS) industry, which includes enhanced darts venue Flight Club and race car simulator F1 Arcade.
Since 2018, real estate agency Savills says the number of CS venues across the UK has risen 40%, and estimates there will be around 800 dotted around the country by the end of the decade.
Poolhouse’s investors include David Blitzer, the billionaire Blackstone executive who owns a stake in a number of major league sports teams around the world, Simon Sports, the co-owner of English football club Ipswich Town and New York-based VC firm Sharp Alpha.
According to the Financial Times, the company expects to open its first site opposite London’s Liverpool Street station early next year, with plans to expand into the US and Australia.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/topgolf-puttshack-golf-startup-pool-poolhouse/
