A pre-seed round led by London-based Ascension VC gives Edinburgh startup Hosel capital to modernize golf resale – a sector ripe for disruption as recommerce moves from the margins to the mainstream of sporting goods retail.
Hosel, an Edinburgh-based startup, has raised £500,000 (approximately €590,000) in pre-seed funding to build a dedicated marketplace for pre-owned golf clubs and equipment – entering a segment that Hosel estimates at $3 billion globally and that has until now lacked specialist infrastructure.
The round was led by Ascension VC, a London-based early-stage investor. A further institutional funding round and entry into the US market are planned for later this year, according to the announcement.
Why golf resale needs its own platform
Golf equipment trades heavily on condition, model year and brand reputation – factors that generalist platforms such as eBay are poorly equipped to verify or price accurately. Hosel’s platform aggregates listings from what it describes as trusted sellers onto a single searchable interface, giving buyers the ability to compare prices across sellers, verify authenticity and benchmark fair market value. Trade-in functionality is also included. The company says the current market is marked by inconsistent pricing, limited product verification and counterfeit risk.
The announcement lands at a moment when recommerce – the organized sale of pre-owned goods – is expanding well beyond its origins in fashion and apparel. According to the OfferUp 2025 Recommerce Report, sporting goods, electronics, furniture and home goods together account for roughly 75 percent of secondhand activity in the US. The same report projects the US recommerce market to reach $306.5 billion by 2030, equivalent to nearly 8 percent of total retail spending.
Within sporting goods specifically, the trend has drawn investor interest and retail partnerships. SidelineSwap, a US-based marketplace for new and used sports gear founded in 2015, has partnered with DICK’S Sporting Goods for three consecutive years to operate trade-in events at retail locations, and has received investment from eBay Ventures. GearTrade, which focuses on outdoor equipment, posted 80 percent growth in 2024, while 2ndSwing Golf already operates as a specialist used golf retailer in the US – a market Hosel is targeting next.
UK first, then 30 million US golfers
Hosel is launching in the UK, where around five million people play the sport. The US, with roughly 30 million golfers, is the company’s stated primary growth target. The startup is named after the socket that connects a golf club’s shaft to its club head.
