Just months after launching on US soil, fast-growing esports franchise, Valhallan, hosted its first UK event on Thursday 28th July. Despite the travel disruption caused by the national rail strikes, prospects travelled from far and wide to attend the launch event and Discovery Day. Hosted by founder David Graham, brand president Matt Phillips and VP of Franchising Marty Flanagan, the full day of seminars and informative sessions was devised to educate entrepreneurs interested in the innovative business model.
Hosted in the heart of London, at The Trafalgar St. James hotel, prospective franchise owners were introduced to the Valhallan concept by Matt, David and other representatives from the US-based support team, who had travelled from the four corners of the US to meet attendees in person.
“Meeting prospects from across the country was of such importance to us – in a post-pandemic world, we never take seeing people face-to-face for granted,” said Matt. “Bringing Valhallan to the UK is such an exciting time for our brand, and the Discovery Day was a real milestone. To be able to explain more about our franchise investment opportunity in person with dedicated people was of real value. We very much appreciate that the majority of them went out of their way, quite literally, to travel to the central London location – we are grateful for their early starts and long commutes!”
Kyle Trump, who made the 400-mile round trip from Huddersfield, was eager to find out more about Valhallan. A keen gamer and integral member of his community, Kyle plans to launch a Valhallan arena near to his home. The Discovery Day offered the perfect opportunity to meet with the support staff and other trusted suppliers.
“The demand for a programme and destination-based esports hub like Valhallan is something that’s becoming more evident as the esports industry grows,” explained Kyle. “This is the chance to invest in a booming £111.5 million industry and, understandably, I’m keen to support Valhallan as a trailblazer. Nothing like Valhallan exists currently in the UK – a place where children with a love for gaming can come and be celebrated for their intuition and teamwork. And for the children that aren’t quite there yet, the Valhallan curriculum will fill those gaps.
“I’m so pleased I took the time to travel down to London for the Discovery Day. My first visit to our capital city and it certainly didn’t disappoint!”
With the demand for esports programmes that combine education and competition, Valhallan was created to provide an inclusive and engaging space for young people to learn life skills whilst having fun competing in video games.
“We’re hopeful that the sessions we delivered on our business model, the support franchise owners can expect to receive, plus insight on our revolutionary curriculum and branding, will have answered any questions that prospects may have. With the response on the day, we can’t imagine it will be long before our first UK arena opens its doors!” added Matt.
