The Fitzdares Club: Fine Dining and Live Sporting Events in a Luxury Setting
By
2 years ago
The Fitzdares Club is a Great British Brand 2023
The Fitzdares Club is an entry into our Great British Brands 2023 book.
The Fitzdares Club: Great British Brand 2023
‘At Fitzdares, we have always gone in the opposite direction of our competitors and, it turns out – when the world is being constantly turned on its head – that this is, in fact, a brilliant time not to be normal.
© Mike Garlick Photography
Although political instability around legislation for the gambling industry has been challenging, we saw so many green shoots in 2022, just cropping up out of nowhere.
One of our biggest achievements has been the launch of our luxury members’ clubs. We opened the first one in Mayfair in 2020. Because of the uncertainty in the hospitality sector, we didn’t have one drop-in client for a year and half – everyone booked so they could be sure we’d be open. Now we have ten drop-ins a day and we’ve recently had our busiest month ever. Our latest club in the Cotswolds, on the Naunton Downs Estate which boasts an 18-hole golf course, is also working really well for us.
Another achievement is investment in our staff – we worked hard to create a good environment for people to return to after lockdown. Our staff have, in turn, rewarded us.
The sole purpose of our brand is to make sport more fun and we’re doing that. The biggest challenge now is how to reset the way consumers engage with information and how we acquire new clients. I think it comes back to old-fashioned retail: having a relationship directly with the customer. Last year we published a book on the 100 best places to go in London – the sort of thing brands did 20 years ago – and it sold out so we’re reprinting it. People today want physical experiences executed beautifully. Brands are going to have to really bend over backwards to make their customers feel special.’
William Woodhams, CEO
© Mike Garlick Photography
Brand Timeline
2006
Balthazar Fabricius founds Fitzdares, offering a more personalised betting service. It becomes the first bookmaker to introduce text betting.
2019
Fitzdares Club organises its first pop-up in Mayfair during the Cheltenham Festival, to resounding success and positive feedback from visitors.
2020
Fitzdares Club Mayfair opens above Mayfair’s oldest pub, combining the excitement of a sports bar with the comfort of a private members’ club.
2021
Fitzdares Club On Course opens at Royal Windsor. A year later Fitzdares Cotswold Club opens at Ben Pauling’s yard on the Naunton Downs Estate.
2022
Fitzdares Club On Course at The Cheltenham Festival opens, as well as setting up a home-from-home in Herefordshire’s Eastnor Castle.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Fitzdares is named for Miss Elizabeth Fitzdare, the lover of Balthazar B in J.P. Donleavy’s novel, The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B.
- No money changes hands in any of the Fitzdares Clubs. Bets are placed via the brand’s app, which covers every sport and is the fastest in the racing market.
- The Fitzdares app also connects clients with live and highly trained brokers.
- Fitzdares is a member of the Betting and Gaming Council, which is committed to driving change and promoting safer gambling.
- Fitzdares’ signature cocktail is the Horse’s Neck, the brand’s racing twist on the classic Martini.
Fitzdares
Naunton Downs Estate, Naunton, Cheltenham GL54 3AE
