A Formula 1 competitive gaming chain, founded by hospitality heavyweight Adam Breeden, has secured £30m in funding from investors to fuel its expansion globally.

The concept, F1 Arcade, launched last year in St Paul’s, London and merges simulator racing with cocktails and food.

The sport has grown in popularity in recent years, largely made popular by Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ series – with F1 Arcade already securing plans to bring its F1 Arcade to Boston and Birmingham.

However, a fresh funding round led by Liberty Media and Formula 1 will help the business expand across 30 further sites across the US, UK, Australia and the Middle East by 2027.

“Given the success of the first location and its appeal to such a diverse audience, we believe F1 Arcade has the potential to become one of the most sought-after experiential hospitality brands globally,” founder Adam Breeden said.

“For now, we are eagerly anticipating the opening of Birmingham UK in late 2023 and our first US site in Boston in early 2024 as well as announcing further locations imminently.”

Breeden is the co-founder of other popular competitive gaming chains such as Puttshack and Bounce.

Demand for experiential social experiences has surged recently, with Breeden saying that that experiential hospitality venues were “exploding” with popularity post-Covid.