What Clays does

Clays operates four competitive socialising venues in the United Kingdom that combine proprietary virtual clay target shooting technology with a hospitality offer of food, drinks, and curated events. The sites are located in London Canary Wharf (One Cabot Square), The City/Moorgate (55 Moorgate), Soho (77 Brewer Street), and Birmingham (105 New Street). The core technology simulates classic British clay shooting on 4K screens using sub-millimetre precision hardware and five proprietary game formats (Power Play, Peloton, Bonanza, Moonshot, Piracy) played in private, semi-private, or shared arcade pegs. The experience is paired with a seasonal British menu curated by Culinary Director Roger Olsson and a signature clarified cocktail technique developed in-house.

The commercial model is a hybrid of pay-per-person experience packages, food and beverage sales, and venue hire. Per-person pricing spans from £8 for casual play and £34–£40 for celebration packages (Bottoms Up brunch, Night Play) up to a £115 Diamond Duel corporate package, with a 12.5% service charge added to all bookings and deposits required above £250. Group capacity runs from two guests to full venue takeovers of up to 500 people. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer through the clays.bar website, a phone reservations team, walk-in arcade at Birmingham and Soho, and a dedicated corporate events team; there are no third-party resellers.

The customer base spans five primary segments: corporate events (team building, Christmas parties), private celebrations (birthdays, hen and stag dos), social groups, families with teenagers during designated windows, and walk-in arcade customers. Revenue is diversified across these segments with no disclosed enterprise concentration. The company is privately held (legal entity Trigger Group Limited, registered in England), has raised approximately $4.1M in an early 2020 round and additional Volpi Capital investment in January 2022, holds granted UK and pending US trademarks, and has filed multiple patent and PCT applications in 2025 covering its core simulation system.

Name

Clays

Legal name

Trigger Group Limited

Website

https://clays.bar

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Clays is a UK competitive socialising operator running four venues in London (Canary Wharf, The City, Soho) and Birmingham that combine proprietary virtual clay target shooting simulation with food, drink, and event packages for groups of 2 to 500.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Competitive Socialising Venue

NAICS

Amusement Arcades (713120)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Gaming Café/Bar Hybrid Venues (Food & Beverage + Competitive Play) (MPAFALAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Coin-Operated Entertainment (Pinball, Crane/Claw, Jukebox, Darts/Billiards) (MPAEAJAF)

Keywords

• Virtual clay shooting
• Competitive socialising
• Experiential entertainment venue
• Corporate event hospitality
• Bottomless brunch bar

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Event Bookings and Packages: Revenue from pre-built and bespoke event packages including gameplay time, food and beverage. Packages range from social experiences at £8pp to premium corporate experiences at £115pp. Deposit required for bookings over £250.
2. Food and Beverage Sales: On-site food and drink sales including seasonal menus, signature cocktails, wines, beers and spirits. Culinary offerings curated by Culinary Director Roger Olsson featuring sustainably sourced British produce.
3. Venue Hire and Private Events: Revenue from exclusive venue hire including The Hide private spaces, semi-private pegs, and full venue takeovers for groups up to 500. Premium pricing for exclusive experiences.
4. Bottoms Up Brunch Packages: Bottomless brunch packages at £35 per person including 90 minutes of unlimited gameplay and flowing drinks (beers, wines, ciders, spirits, cocktails and mocktails).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Clays operates premium "competitive socialising" bar venues that combine proprietary virtual clay target shooting with food, drink and shared gaming. Customers book group experiences (casual play, hen/stag/birthday celebrations, family sessions, corporate events from 2 to 500+ guests) around a sub-millimetre-precision simulation powered by five custom game modes, supported by a cocktail-led bar and a curated culinary programme led by a Culinary Director.

Product overview

Clays is a competitive socialising venue offering a unified platform combining virtual clay target shooting with hospitality. The core product is the Virtual Clay Target Shooting experience, featuring five proprietary interactive games (Power Play, Peloton, Bonanza, Moonshot, Piracy) played on 4K screens using unique sub-millimetre precision technology. This core is enhanced through multiple experience add-ons: Bottoms Up (bottomless brunch), Night Play (DJ and bar experience), The Arcade (shared gaming), and The Hide (VIP private space). Corporate event packages (Diamond, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Social Experiences) provide tiered options for team building. Celebration packages address hen/stag parties and birthdays, while seasonal offerings include Christmas Parties, Drag Bottoms Up, and Family Sessions. Food and beverage service (menu by Roger Olsson) complements the gaming experience, with Happy Hour and Winners Packages as additional add-ons. The company operates four UK venues across London (Canary Wharf, The City/Moorgate, Soho) and Birmingham.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Virtual Clay Target Shooting (Curated Experiences) The signature Clays experience: proprietary virtual clay target shooting using sub-millimetre-precision simulation across five game modes (Power Play, Peloton, Bonanza, Moonshot, Piracy), sold as bookable curated group experiences for parties of various sizes, with paired food and drinks.
• Bottoms Up (Bottomless Brunch) Sunday bottomless brunch experience pairing unlimited prosecco, beer and pizza with Clays' virtual shooting games in a shared, bar-style setting.
• Night Play Evening "Night Play" experience aimed at stag parties and other group nights out, combining competitive virtual shooting with late-night food, drinks and music.
• The Arcade Walk-in, pay-as-you-play area within Clays venues offering the same virtual shooting simulation in a shared bar environment, with casual pricing starting from around £8 per person and themed evenings such as Happy Hour.
• The Hide (Private VIP Space) Private VIP / event space within Clays venues used for premium group bookings, including corporate events and celebrations, with bespoke food, drink and shooting setup.
• Corporate Event Packages (Diamond / Gold / Silver / Bronze / Rookie) Turnkey corporate event packages combining virtual clay shooting with food and drinks, sold at tiered per-person rates (e.g. Diamond £101pp, Gold £67pp, Silver £56pp, Bronze £47pp, Rookie £38pp), with full customisation for groups of up to 500+ guests and a dedicated events team.
• Food & Drink Service (Bar and Kitchen) In-venue bar and kitchen service offering signature hand-crafted and clarified cocktails, wines, beers and a curated food menu developed under the Culinary Director, available alongside all Clays experiences.
• Celebration Packages (Hen Parties / Stag Parties / Birthdays) Customisable group celebration packages for hen parties, stag parties and birthday celebrations, bundling shooting, food, drinks and private or shared space at Clays venues.
• Family Sessions Family-focused shooting sessions designed for parents and children to play together in a safe, supervised Clays venue environment.
• Christmas Parties Seasonal Christmas party packages in Clays venues, offering festive food, drinks and shooting experiences for corporate and group bookings during the holiday period.
• Drag Bottoms Up (Pride Brunch) Pride-themed bottomless brunch featuring Clays shooting, drag performances and bottomless drinks, run as a limited-engagement seasonal experience.
• Clays to Kit (Competition Programme) Quarterly prize-led shooting competition in partnership with Field & Track / outdoor-fashion brands, where top scorers win apparel bundles, running seasonally across selected Clays venues.

Quantifiable outcome

• Venue capacity from 2 to 500 guests across four UK locations
• +1 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• British ShootingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Partnership with British Shooting for the Clays to Kit talent development programme. The programme runs from 1st May to 30th September, challenging shooters nationwide for a chance to be scouted for the 2026 British Shooting Talent Development programme. Monthly league leaderboards feed into exclusive British Shooting events.
• BeluminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater filtration system partnership contributing towards WaterAid donations to bring clean water to communities worldwide. Part of Clays' sustainability commitment.
• Drag Artists (Various)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with drag artists including Jonbers Blonde, Margo Marshall, Tequila Thirst for Pride events. Artists perform at Drag Bottoms Up events, attracting LGBTQ+ community and allies.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Flight Club: Flight Club operates social darts venues combining tech-enabled darts gameplay with food, cocktails, and event packages across UK and US locations. Directly comparable as a bar + competitive gaming hybrid targeting corporate events, birthdays, and group socialising at premium price points.
• Swingers: Swingers operates crazy golf and cocktail bar venues in London and New York with a similar competitive socialising positioning. Closely comparable as a premium bar + interactive game hybrid targeting the same corporate, hen/stag, and group celebration customer base with tiered event packages.
• Puttshack: Puttshack operates tech-enabled mini-golf venues with bars and food across the UK and US. Direct competitor in the competitive socialising category using proprietary tracking technology, premium pricing, and corporate/private event packages aimed at the same demographic and use cases.
• Lane7: Lane7 is a UK bowling and entertainment operator with multiple venues offering bowling, darts, shuffleboard, karaoke, and bars. Directly comparable as a multi-activity competitive socialising venue chain with strong corporate events and group bookings focus.
• Bounce: Bounce operates ping pong bars in London and other cities, combining table tennis with food, cocktails, DJs, and private event spaces. Comparable as a bar + competitive game hybrid targeting similar social occasions, corporate clients, and group celebrations.
• Electric Shuffle: Electric Shuffle operates tech-enabled shuffleboard venues with bars in London and other UK cities. Directly comparable as a bar + tech-driven game hybrid with similar pricing tiers, group bookings, and corporate events focus.
• Roxy Leisure: Roxy Leisure operates multi-activity entertainment venues across UK cities combining bowling, mini-golf, shuffleboard, darts, and bars. Comparable as a UK-based competitive socialising chain with similar event and group entertainment focus.
• All Star Lanes: All Star Lanes is a UK bowling, cocktail, and dining venue operator with multiple London locations. Comparable as a boutique competitive socialising bar targeting similar group entertainment, celebrations, and corporate event occasions.
• King Pins: King Pins operates boutique bowling and entertainment venues across the UK with bars and food offerings. Comparable as a competitive socialising venue chain with similar group, birthday, and corporate event targeting.

Broad incumbents

• Topgolf: Topgolf is a global golf-based entertainment operator with large venues combining tech-enabled driving range gameplay with food, beverage, and events. Broader incumbent in the tech-enabled competitive sport entertainment space; comparable on technology-driven gameplay and event-driven GTM, though at much larger scale.

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/clays_bar
• Facebookfacebook.com/clayslondon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/claysbar
• Instagraminstagram.com/clays_bar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Clays