Stuart Broad sets sights on budding pub chain after retiring from cricket

Retired cricket star Stuart Broad has said it can feel “overwhelming” when professional sports contracts end and the “monthly payments stop”, as the pub owner sets his sights on growing his budding hospitality business.

The 37-year-old revealed he started thinking about his career after cricket about 10 years ago.

His remarks coincide with the launch of accounting software firm Sage’s competition for 10 small businesses to share £50,000, which has partnered with Broad for the initiative.

Broad announced his retirement from cricket during the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia last summer.

He has since tapped further into the world of business, co-owning two pubs – the Tap & Run in Nottinghamshire and The Griffin Inn in Leicestershire – with fellow former England cricketer Harry Gurney.

The pair are targeting opening another five pubs over the next five years, having gained investment from Lee Cash, the co-founder of Peach Pubs.

“At 27 I started to take more of an interest in business, I watched different documentaries and I probably didn’t think I’d still be playing at 37,” Broad told the PA news agency.

“I realised you have to be open to the fact that it will hurt because your dream is over in a sense … the thing you’ve worked for since you’re a kid is done, which is unusual, but that is sport.

“I think it’s really important when you’re playing professional sport to have half an eye on what’s next, because if it comes with an injury or a loss of form, and you’ve not even thought about it once, then that’s a hugely panicky situation to be in.

“One thing I’m now aware of is once that contract finishes and the monthly payments stop, it does go to nought, and that can be quite overwhelming.”

The former England player has also turned his attention to punditry and will be working at the Hundred cricket tournament this year.

However, he said he was not planning on embarking on full-time coaching, as a father to a 19-month-old daughter whom he shares with radio presenter and ex-The Saturdays band member Mollie King.

“It would take me away from my family as much as being a player … so that doesn’t quite fit for me right now, but it might do in the future,” Broad told PA.

Broad’s partnership with Sage, the FTSE 100-listed tech giant, will see 10 small businesses rewarded with a £5,000 grant and access to the group’s technology.

The cricketer said it took several years for the pair to find their feet as business owners and eventually decided to focus on building a strong culture among staff in their pubs.

“The culture of the staff is number one, like it would be in a cricket changing room,” he said.