Tom Beahon and his brother Phil have built £1billion sportswear company Castore, who have now added Everton to their list of illustrious and high-profile clients.
Two brothers behind a £1billion global sportswear company say they will stay loyal to their northern roots after signing another big kit deal.
Castore will today (Friday) unveil their new Everton kit, training travel wear and fan replica kits and the Mirror has been given an exclusive preview of the new shirt.
The company is owned by two brothers who created the firm on their parents’ kitchen table just nine years ago. Tom Beahon, 34, was rejected by Tranmere Rovers as a teenager and started with Shore Villa Under 8s.
Now he and brother Phil have signed this lucrative contract with Everton. But the Merseyside pair pledged to always keep Castore based in the North West. “We will never leave the North” Tom told the Mirror.
Castore now employs 550 people, in the north. Tom remembers the pain of being chucked on the “scrapheap” and his tears on the day he was rejected as a professional footballer by his beloved Tranmere Rovers.
From Shore Villa Under 8s on the Wirral to becoming a millionaire it’s been an incredible journey for Tom and brother Phil. Now, 12 years on, and a millionaire with a company attracting investment across the globe including America , they will continue to invest in jobs in the region.
Tom said: “As far as as long as I’m involved, the company will never be based anywhere else but the North. Quality jobs in the north are the most important thing for me. We are proud to be a Northern business and we will always be a northern business.
“When I was young there was a feeling you had to go to London to make money but that’s not true anymore. There are great jobs in the north and that situation is getting better every year.”
Starting out with football kits and having tennis star Andy Murray as a client the brothers are now conquering the world of sport with their brand of sportswear from their HQ in Manchester. Among their other clients are the England Cricket team, Olympic swimming legend Adam Peaty and Formula One star Lando Norris.
Their success story started when their parents re-mortgaged their house and they sent out their first orders from the kitchen table in The Wirral. But when Tom visits the great football stadiums of the world to watch teams playing in his company’s kit he never forgets the moment he was called into Tranmere manager Ronnie Moore’s office and told he wasn’t good enough to make the grade.
“It was a sliding door moment,” he said. “There was just me and him in the office. It took barely three minutes and I was told I was being released. You kind of leave that room and it is oh my oh my god – this is what I’ve dedicated my life to.
