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Competitive Socialising 2020 Event

Welcome to Competitive Socialising 2020!

Competitive Socialising 2020 is a celebration of one of hospitality’s fastest growing trends and will combine speakers from industry operators and brand-new products being launched for the first time in the UK. The competitive Socialising 2020 event is your chance to learn more about integrating Competitive Socialising into your business in the latest ways.

Competitive socialising 2020 will take place at SWAY in London on February 27th.

What is Competitive Socialising?

Competitive socialising refers to any competition or game that is part of a bigger social gathering. Although traditional games such as pool or darts have been mainstays of the UK pub scene for years, 2020 will continue to be defined by innovative and disruptive businesses bring fresh ideas about the way people socialise. For more information, check out What Is Competitive Socialising?

What’s Happening at Competitive Socialising 2020?

The Competitive Socialising 2020 event will bring together industry experts, suppliers and investors with an interest in the rapid growth in competitive socialising. From Home Leisure Direct’s contactless payment pool tables to the latest in interactive darts and digital games, Competitive Socialising 2020 is guaranteed to have something for any F&B operator.

There will be exclusive product launches of a range of exciting innovations in the competitive socialising market. From small installations perfect for pubs and bars to larger concepts for specialist venues, there will be guaranteed wow factor from a range of industry-leading suppliers.

Learn more:

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11:30 - 12:30	Registration
12:40 - 13:00	Keynote Speaker
13:00 - 13:45	Panel Discussion
13:45 - 14:40	Lunch
14:40 - 15:00	Keynote Speaker
15:00 - 15:45	Panel Discussion
15:45 - 16:45	Comfort Break
16:45 - 17:00	Further Speakers
17:00 - 17:30	Product Launches
17:30 - 21:00	Product Demonstrations

Steve Moore - CEO and Founder, Flight Club

Steve Moore, is CEO and co-founder of Red Engine, the team behind Flight Club Darts and Electric Shuffle. Seeking to redefine moments with friends, Flight Club has 8 venues spanning the UK and USA (4 in London: Shoreditch, Bloomsbury, Victoria and Islington, Birmingham and Manchester, Chicago and Boston), with Red Engine’s newest concept Electric Shuffle launched in 2019 in London’s Canary Wharf. With a background as a Futures Trader, Steve previously led a Guinness World Record attempt to complete the longest journey made by a fire engine in memory of his father. This huge exercise in project management helped develop Steve’s skillset and ability to take on his next ambitious challenge; reinvigorating the hospitality industry with Red Engine.

"The competitive socialising market is one of the most exciting places to be right now. The High Street has seen a huge amount of change over the past few years, providing amazing opportunities to bring something new and memorable to consumers. The tried and tested doesn’t cut it anymore, and as such there’s the potential to transform people’s experiences and expectations with something truly unique. There are some incredible operators in this sector, and I thrive on making sure we stay at the forefront of this industry."

Katy Moses - Founder and Managing Director, Kam Media

Katy has 20 years experience in business development, research and consultancy roles. Katy is passionate about pubs and bars (and not just about being in them) and small format retail. In retail, Katy has run research programmes for some of the biggest names in FMCG, including Heineken, Diageo and Heinz. as well as many major retailers, including The Co-operative, Waitrose and McColl’s.

In the on trade, Katy has worked with pub and bar companies as a consultant since what seems like the dawn of time, and run bespoke and syndicated research programmes for pub companies, casual dining brands and on trade suppliers such as Punch, Enterprise, St Austell, Shepherd Neame, First Drinks, and Carlsberg. She hasn’t had a complaint yet.

Graeme Hawkins - Founder, London Shuffle Club

While he frankly states that he didn’t really come up with a new idea, Graeme Hawkins used his unique insight and experience to transform a Eureka moment into one of London’s coolest activity bars. The idea for the London Shuffle Club came about during a trip to New York in 2016, when one of his wife’s friends recommended that they try Shuffleboard in the city. Inspired by the thought of people putting away their phones in favour of embracing their competitive natures, and getting stuck in with shuffleboard - Graeme took the idea and rolled with it.

Andy Beresford - CEO and Founder, Home Leisure Direct

Andy has spent over 30 years at the forefront of consumer retailing. He started at Dixons in the late 80s during the consumer electronics boom, then moved to the board at Phones 4u as mobile phones took off in the 2000s. He co-founded Home Leisure Direct with his wife Michelle as firstly an e-commerce business supplying commercial grade games room products to home customers. The company has since expanded greatly, now also serving the hospitality sector with cutting edge products, rentals, repairs and servicing.

Competitive socialising is an incredibly compelling and exciting sector. What could be better than fun and games with friends, family or colleagues, along with some great drinks and food? Attracting some exceptional entrepreneurs and concepts the market will continue to grow as it attracts some serious investment. Key components are innovative games, attractive venues with the “wow” factor, intriguing food and beverage offering, along with an experience people want to share.

Dawn Clarke - Head of Electronic Leisure, Mitchells and Butlers

Dawn Clarke was born and bred in Burton Upon Trent in the Midlands. She went to Birmingham University where she scored a not so shabby 2:1 in Business Administration. She then went on to study a Post Graduate Diploma in Multi-Unit Hospitality Leadership. As a young ‘whipper snapper’ Dawn joined the leisure and gaming industry in 1997 and after an inexorably upward incline from Call Centre operative to Account Manager for Rank Leisure, she made it to the dizzy heights of Head of Electronic Leisure for Mitchells & Butlers.

Consumer habits are changing with greater propensity and there is a desire to seek new and exciting experiences. Experience is key for reasons to visit for consumers and drink less alcohol, particularly with the under 35’s. With the ability to record and share experiences via Social Media, consumers are keen to invest in experiences and the memories in which they create. The rise of ‘Competitive Socialising’ concepts such as crazy golf, darts, table tennis and trampolining are just a few examples that underpin how consumer habits are changing.

James Sweetnam - Founder, Event Corporation

After becoming unenthused with a long career in aviation I decided to embark into the thrilling (and mostly petrifying) world of business ownership. While the roots of my business can be traced back to rudimental event organisation like Car Boot Sales (my first still runs today!!), I soon became engrossed and fascinated by the weatherproof industry that is indoor leisure and entertainment.

For me Competitive Socialising is an evolution that has come about as people want to play competitive activities away from their screens at home but are also looking for something other than aimlessly sinking pints at their local (not that there’s anything wrong with this)! Virtual Reality although has an allegedly social element it’s still physically creating barriers between real social contact and for this reason the Competitive Socialising scene is booming. This is a hugely exciting sector in which I predict we will see phenomenal and prolonged growth.

Helene Mills - Director of Consumer Strategy, Incite

Helene heads up the Consumer Strategy practice at Incite and advises both operators and investors in consumer business. She has over 20 years experiences in consumer insight and strategy consultancy, and has led projects across diverse sectors including leisure, food & beverage, retail and fashion. Her passion lies in developing solutions to align propositions to unlock opportunity through understanding the market and target audience.

Incite have prepared a White Paper for this event and will be talking through some of the reasons why ‘Competitive Socialising’ has generated such a head of steam. Through their own research they unpick what is driving this ‘revolution’ and outline the opportunities it presents for operators. If you are wondering what it’s all about, and whether it is worth jumping on the bandwagon, this is not to be missed!

Yasha Estraikh - Associate Partner, Piper Private Equity

Yasha is an investor and brand communications specialist, working with leading entrepreneurs and management teams to put the customer at the heart of their brands. He is part of a team of brand experts at Piper, the investment partner of choice for ambitious entrepreneurs growing brands consumers love. Their leisure investments include Flat Iron, Loungers, Frame, Turtle Bay, Las Iguanas, Hickory's Smokehouse and Pitcher & Piano.

I see these types of businesses as just an improved iteration of what has come before it, principally a fun and memorable night out. The fundamental consumer need has not changed. What has changed is consumers’ expectations and in turn how the industry is responding to it.

George Adams - Investor

George has set up & sold his own businesses in the consumer space but has spent the majority of his career as a professional investor. As a director at 3i & a partner at Piper he invested in a range of consumer businesses including those in the leisure sector. He currently invests and sits on the board of five businesses, including Home Leisure Direct , hence his appearance today!

The growth of competitive socialising clearly fulfils consumers desire to have a social time in addition to their time spent online. In fact the two are completely compatible , with each driving the growth of the other in many different ways.

Ian Edward - Investor

Ian Edward is currently a senior leisure adviser to leading mid market corporate finance firm Clearwater International who are advisers to Junkyard Golf.He is also a founder of Hippo Inns,director and founder shareholder in Pizza Pilgrims and investor and non-exec at Thunderbird Fried Chicken and Seafood Pub Company.He had his own corporate finance business in the sector for over 20 years following a career in New York and London.

Competitive socialising and experiential leisure are not entirely new developments in the leisure sector.What they have done remarkably well is to take traditional entertainments such as darts,bingo,putting etc and applied technology to make them new relevant and exciting .This sub sector is here to stay and more exciting evolutions are on the way!

Will Hawkes - General Secretary, British Foosball Association

A table football addict, Will has been playing the game for more than 25 years. Ranked in the UK's top 30 players, last year he coached the Team GB senior team to silver medal at the table football World Cup. Will's responsibility at the British Foosball Association is development of table football as a sport. Inspired by the Sport & Recreation Alliance, he runs coaching programmes for children and young people in North London, and also works for the International Table Soccer Federation. Away from the table, Will spend 20 years as a management executive at HSBC. More recently he is with Deloitte Consulting in the marketing and digital sectors, and is a trustee of two charities.

Table football is well positioned to take advantage of the growth in competitive socialising. The game is accessible to all; rules are easy to understand; and formats can easily be flexed to ensure that participants have fun playing competitive games at their own level. London's Bar Kick has for years demonstrated there is an appetite in the UK for casual fun on a football table. With digital innovations in train - a global player app and in-table score-tracking equipment - there is much more opportunity for table football in years to come.

Lyn Goleby - Film and Event Cinema Expert

My working life has largely been spent conceptualising and building places for people to enjoy their leisure time. Back in the 1980’s we were responding to the decline of cinema. At that time we were reinventing the high street cinemas, the demise of which was going to spell the end of the high street. Sound familiar? Cinema is alive and thriving. It feeds the human need to gather together to hear and watch stories and it contributes to the heart of communities.

And now that we find ourselves ever more isolated in the communication super spiral there’s a case for responding with the stability and security of bricks and mortar; places of entertainment with strong human interaction that is not just machine based. With the ever accelerating world of social media and addiction to our screen devices there’s a real need to maintain and create places where people socialise, laugh and gather. Long live our pubs, our cinemas and now our competitive socialising spaces. The ongoing cycle of how people spend their leisure time is being constantly modernised as we re-visit formats and re-invent them for today and tomorrow.