Commercial Trends

Saturday 29 August 2026 · 4 min read

Two Private Clubs, No Sport in Sight, and Completely Opposite Business Models

Soho House just agreed to a $2.7 billion take-private deal. 5 Hertford Street, harder to get into than almost anywhere in London, charges…

Tuesday 25 August 2026 · 4 min read

The Tell Was in the Car Park. No One Ever Built the Grandstands.

Most major golf tournaments need weeks of visible construction. At The Cardinal at Saint John's Resort in Michigan, none of that happened…

Monday 17 August 2026 · 4 min read

Private Equity Just Bet Almost $1 Billion On Hyrox. It's Already Trying to Exit CrossFit.

Two functional fitness formats built on nearly identical raw material are living through opposite decades. One is in exclusive talks with…

Friday 14 August 2026 · 4 min read

Your Company Isn't Paying For Golf. It's Paying For You.

A UK bank manager once tried to claim his golf club subscription as a business expense and lost, even though he didn't enjoy playing. That…

Monday 10 August 2026 · 3 min read

The $6.8 Trillion Economy Nobody's Investing In Correctly

The global wellness economy hit $6.8 trillion in 2024, nearly four times the size of the entire pharmaceutical industry. The useful…

Sunday 9 August 2026 · 4 min read

The School That Wins on Saturday Wins on Open Day Too

A rugby scholarship isn't really an act of generosity toward a talented 13-year-old. It's a school buying its own reputation ten years in…

Sunday 9 August 2026 · 3 min read

How a Modern Golf Club Actually Makes Money

Most members never see the P&L. At a healthy private club, dues alone make up 50 to 60% of total revenue, and everything else exists mostly…

Tuesday 4 August 2026 · 2 min read

8,000 New Padel Courts In One Year

There are now more than 58,000 padel courts worldwide, up from around 50,000 a year ago. Golf course supply, by comparison, has barely…

Monday 27 July 2026 · 2 min read

The Great Club Roll-Up