Forget axe-throwing, forget trampolines, put crazy golf out of your mind, because the latest in cool post-work socialising is coming to Birmingham.

IM Properties has signed up SERVE to a 12K SF underground unit at 55a Temple Row, promising a stylish and contemporary bar with "an immersive ping pong experience."

The first of its kind outside London, immersive ping pong is the creation of business partners James Day and David Smith, who first met in New York and began to develop the idea for a venue. They say the new venue will provide a relaxed, family-friendly environment by day and a hip, nightclub culture by night.

SERVE Birmingham is the first of several venues planned to open as part of an ambitious growth programme, with at least three more planned in the next 12 months.

A statement from SERVE and IM offered no clues on how it is possible to immerse yourself in ping pong, short of imagining you are the ball. "We're confident the city will embrace the concept," IM Properties Asset Manager Harry Goodman said nonetheless.

SERVE will include 15 ping pong tables and a private room with two tables as an exclusive space for corporate events and private birthday parties.

Refurbishment work has already begun with the new venue expected to be open this summer.