Liverpool leisure operator Big Fang Collective is expanding further across the UK with three new venues, including its first in London. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool leisure operator Big Fang Collective is expanding its portfolio of multi-concept entertainment venues to three new locations across the UK.

Big Fang’s brands include Golf Fang, Big Fang Karaoke, Big Fang Arcade and Nothing Cheezy already operates two venues in Liverpool as well as in Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow and Sheffield.

In 2022 private equity leisure investor IMBIBA ploughed £5.5m into the business and now Big Fang is to open its latest outlets in London (its first in the capital), Bristol and Nottingham later this year.

It has started the process of licensing applications for the three central locations. The Nottingham venue is set to launch in early summer, whilst the Bristol  and London venues will open their doors later in the year. The London site comprises 30,000 sq ft in Waterloo.

Big Fang is using a £5.5m cash injection it secured from SME lender ThinCats to fund the countrywide expansion. 

Already employing more than 260 people, Big Fang’s venues offer a combination of crazy golf, DJs and signature cocktails inside a cathedral of graffiti. It has expanded its proposition with multiple concepts.

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These include in-house pizzeria Nothing Cheezy and Big Fang Karaoke, an immersive karaoke destination, both of which launched in Liverpool in 2023. It has  launched its first Big Fang Arcade in Sheffield, which will be rolled out into its Cardiff venue this month.

In a statement, the company said: “We are excited to be able to confirm that we are in the process of launching new sites in Bristol, Nottingham and London. 

“The cities provide the perfect location for the Big Fang brand, with creative communities and thriving atmospheres, we think we will fit right in.

“We’re still to confirm the Big Fang brands launching in each site, but we’re planning multi-concept venues that bring together immersive experiences for our audiences. We look forward to sharing more about our growth journey in each city”.

Big Fang opened its first crazy golf concept, Ghetto Golf, in Liverpool in 2016. In 2022 private equity leisure investor IMBIBA ploughed £5m into the business and it was rebranded as Golf Fang.