Climbing wall business set up in former hotel set to scale new heights

A climbing wall business opened in the former Leofric Hotel in Coventry city centre five years ago is looking to scale new heights after investing in future success.

The Ballroom Climbing Wall was growing steadily until the pandemic hit and then, like all other attractions, was forced to close.

It is now back up and running and says it is attracting more visitors per day than it was pre-pandemic for its specialist bouldering wall, which is low to the ground climbing without ropes or harnesses.

The business has received help from business advisors at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce as part of the Coventry City Council-led Coventry Creative Growth & Cultural Tourism Recovery Programme, which is funded by the UK Government’s Community Renewal Fund, through the West Midlands Combined Authority.

The Ballroom Climbing Wall was given specialist advice and, as a result, it has added a new member of staff to the team and also invested £30,000 into improvements to the venue.

The Ballroom Climbing Wall is run by brothers Ben and Sam Prior.

“I was an accountant and my brother was a physiotherapist but we had a passion for climbing,” said Ben.

“We decided we wanted to open our own climbing wall venue and chose Coventry even though I was living in Cambridge and Sam was living in Oxford.

“We felt it was something we could really grow in the city and that was happening – then Covid struck, so we had to close.”

He added: “Once we were able to reopen, we really wanted to grow and invest in the future.

“We found out about the support available through the Chamber and it has been a major help.

“Getting one-to-one advice and being able to look at how we could grow was invaluable. It has meant we can make around £30,000 of investment into improving the venue and look at how we grow the customer-base.

“We worked with a business advisor, Chris Hartley, who was great at offering a different perspective, as well as offering us introductions to contacts within the city. We’re members of the Chamber too and are using that for networking opportunities to help spread the word.”

Chris said: “It has been great to work with the Ballroom Climbing Wall. There are so many opportunities for growth and I was able to offer advice on the best avenues to take, in order for them to emerge from the pandemic in a strong way.

“We’d love to talk to more businesses to help offer advice and support, which is good for the individual companies but also the regional economy.”