30th August 2024
Clive Watson, co-founder of Capital Pub Company and City Pub Company, is launching Sixes Growth, an innovative leisure cricket venture with fellow co-founders – former cricketer David Nash and his brother Glen, and chef Atul Kochhar.
D&G Group is a sports and entertainment hospitality company and was acquired by Pitch International in early 2023. A new company, Sixes Growth builds on the success of Sixes Indoor Cricket, “blending cricket with technology-driven competitive socialising, dining, and hospitality”. After raising £1.5m in seed funding from family and friends, the group aims to secure £10m over the next 18-24 months to fund its nationwide expansion. It has already acquired its first site at Headingley, Leeds, which is located 300m from the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
Sixes Growth plans to open ten sites by 2026 in cities like Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham, Southampton and Brighton. While Sixes Growth will share similarities with its predecessor, it will also establish its own identity, “targeting a diverse audience with a premium sports-led entertainment concept”.
The venture will offer immersive indoor cricket, VIP and corporate hospitality, premium drinks, and pop-up dining experiences led by top chefs, alongside exclusive sporting events. Sixes Growth will be managed by the existing Sixes team led by chief executive Calum Mackinnon and chief operating officer Andy Waugh. Sixes Growth will “benefit from established systems, suppliers, and marketing infrastructure”.
The venture seeks to raise the new equity under the enterprise investment scheme (EIS), following Watson’s successful track record with Capital Pub Company and City Pub Company. An AIM flotation is planned for early 2028. Watson said: “As a huge cricket lover, I am bowled over by the potential of Sixes Growth and believe we have an exciting opportunity to build a leading experiential, sports-led entertainment business focussed on our great game. The combined skills of the founding team are unrivalled and we have created a corporate structure that enables our fellow investors to leverage that knowledge, sporting prowess and a proven business track record of delivery, to realise the most from their investment and share in the future success of the group.”
Watson is a well-known figure in the pubs sector, having made his name as finance director of Regent Inns. His most recent ventures, Capital Pub Company and City Pub Group, expanded with EIS before being sold to rivals. Capital was sold to Greene King in 2011 for £93m, while City Pub Company was sold to Young’s in March this year for £162m.