What Is Padel?
Padel is probably the most popular sport you have never heard of!
It’s a variant of tennis which players can play indoors or outdoors. It’s a fun sport and ideal for all ages. It has gained increasing popularity all over the world in recent years having already been massively popular in its birth place in Mexico, and across the whole of South America. As it stands today, over 12 million people worldwide play padel, and its popularity is snowballing. It is the fastest growing sport across continental Europe, and the rise of padel tennis has been monumental, especially in Spain who record around 6-7 million active players alone. Indeed, it’s been described as the “fastest growing sport in the world”, and new players are discovering the game every day, particularly in the Middle East, the Nordic countries and in the UK.
Padel is a form of tennis recognised and heavily promoted by the LTA* that is easy to learn and play, good fun and extremely sociable. The game requires less physical prowess than tennis, making it accessible to many more players. Unlike Tennis it is not ‘power dominant’ and a winning point is achieved by teamwork and strategy. It is played in a doubles format on an walled court about 33% the size of the size of a tennis court. The ball is also slower. Importantly! It can be played in groups of mixed ages and abilities. The rules are roughly the same as tennis, although you always serve underhand and the walls are an integral part of the game with the ball allowed to bounce off them – a bit like in squash. It is always fun but can be extremely competitive! There is a pro league based in Spain, where it is second only to football as a sport.
*The LTA is now responsible for measuring participation, implementing regulation, and structure for all aspects of the sport of padel including and not limited to; competitions, coaching, venue registration, funding schemes, guidance for players, coaches, and clubs.
Great UK Padel Rollout 2022 – Padel in the UK
We have been operating padel clubs in the UK since 2015 making us the longest serving operator in the UK. As of November 2020 there are around 6,000 active padel players across Britain. There are also currently 114 padel courts at 59 clubs – a number that is set to grow substantially over the coming years. See below.
Padel United are a Swedish based company founded by Markus & Rikard Helqvist who have over 30 venues and 250 courts in the Nordics countries. They are one of the biggest padel actors in the world. At Padel United UK, run by Richard Hall Smith and based in Essex, we currently have 4 venues: Maldon, Brentwood, Chelmsford and Bishops Stortford and more already under construction or awaiting final planning around the UK. Each centre is at the heart of its community. We have built up a base of over 1200 padel players, with the largest junior padel academy in the UK boasting over 150 under 16’s.
Today, however, the demand for courts in the UK means that everyone who wants to play simply can’t. The demand is too high…
That is why we are opening new padel centres all over the UK & Ireland.
AT PADEL UNITED WE ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND TO ALL PARTS OF THE UK AND IRELAND. In particular we would invite applications from London Manchester, Preston, Newcastle, Leeds, Birmingham, Northampton and Brighton & Hove.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR POTENTIAL PREMISES. We will explore all options whether that’s a 1 court outdoor venue, an upgrade or addition to an existing sports club or centre or a municipal recreation ground.
However our preference is to invest heavily and build 10 court+ indoor venues. When we create or renovate facilities, we work to a proven and successful business model formed from all of our experiences. We can work with both private and public landowners or managers and can adapt our model to your needs.
What we can do
- We lease the industrial logistic space and transform it into an amazing padel arena with a lounge area, dinner areas, gym, kids area and, of course, world class padel courts.
- We build the courts in collaboration with a Spanish based company with more than 40 years of experience within the padel industry.
- We run the clubs and educate staff, padel coaches and management
- We raise awareness and create ”buzz” around padel in collaboration with sport profiles and other influencers.
- We offer training programs, leagues and other types of tournaments.
What we are ideally looking for?
- A space of 2500-9500 sqm.
- A minimum of 8 meters as height requirement.
- Cities with +200 000 inhabitants is our main target.
- As close to the city center as possible.
- Deposits/security guarantees are not an issue. We have strong investors backing up our venture.
