Santander Provides £3.5m Funding

The opening of a second Swingers crazy golf site in London has been announced after the company behind it, The Institute of Competitive Socialising, secured a £3.5m funding package from Santander Corporate & Commercial.

Founded by Jeremy Simmonds and Matt Grech-Smith, the Institute of Competitive Socialising first introduced the Swingers indoor crazy golf concept as a pop-up venue in Shoreditch in 2015. 

Swingers City opened shortly after that as a permanent venue next to the Gherkin in the City of London.

The leisure business has now launched Swingers West End, which is located in the former BHS store near Oxford Circus.

Based around a 1920s English Riviera theme, Swingers West End contains two nine-hole golf courses, two bars and a range of private hire space which can accommodate groups of up to 300 people.

Matt Grech-Smith, co-founder and managing director of The Institute of Competitive Socialising, said: “We are delighted to have received funding from Santander to open Swingers West End.

“At the Institute of Competitive Socialising, we are constantly striving to create the most enjoyable day or night out that you can have under one roof. With Swingers West End I think we’ve come one step closer: our location, immersive décor, street food, drinks, crazy golf and service all combine to make an unrivalled level of fun.”

Tavia Sparks, director of Santander Growth Capital, who led the deal alongside Scott Douglas, added: “We are delighted to have provided financing to the Institute of Competitive Socialising to take their hugely popular Swingers concept to London’s West End. We look forward to working with Matt, Jeremy and the rest of the management team to achieve their growth aspirations over the coming years.”

Robert Farrell, senior associate in Irwin Mitchell’s Banking & Finance team, advised Santander.