Murray-backed Game4Padel raises funds for UK network – Daily Business

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Sir Andy Murray and Peter Crouch taking part in padel

An organization behind a fast-growing racket sport, backed by tennis stars Sir Andy Murray and Annabel Croft, has attracted an additional £1.3m to develop a UK-wide community of courts.  

The newest fairness elevate values Edinburgh-based Game4Padel at £10m, with the brand new capital getting used to construct as much as 300 courts within the subsequent 5 years.

Its two earlier fundraising workouts – on inception in 2019 after which in March 2020 – have been each closely oversubscribed, elevating a complete of £1.25m.

Padel is a tennis/squash hybrid recreation that’s spreading quickly and boasts six million gamers in Spain alone. It’s quickly gaining reputation throughout the UK, continental Europe and the remainder of the world.  There are 100 courts within the UK, together with Barnton in Edinburgh and in Stirling.

Lovers embrace Rafael Nadal, David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola.

Fan: Pep Guardiola (pic: SNS Group)

Chairman of Game4Play is Jim McMahon, a founding associate of the funding enterprise, West Coast Capital, and chairman of Motherwell FC.

The sport is performed with 4 gamers in a glass-enclosed court docket about one-third of the dimensions of a tennis court docket. The principles are broadly just like tennis – though gamers serve underarm.

The corporate is deploying capital so rapidly to fulfill the rising demand for padel courts that it’s already contemplating a fourth spherical of fundraising this summer time.

In June, Game4Padel signed a 10-year lease with Europe’s largest retail vacation spot, Westfield London, to put in and function three lined out of doors courts and two pop-up present courts.

Anybody for padel? Michael Gradon and Annabel Croft

Topic to planning, the three everlasting courts are anticipated to open in January 2022. This may create by far the most important reside viewers for padel ever seen within the UK – and presumably on the earth.

The agency can also be in detailed discussions with some 50 different venues – together with main retail locations, enterprise parks, leisure centres in addition to sports activities venues.

The Garden Tennis Affiliation (LTA), which is the governing physique for padel within the UK, has forecast 400% development within the variety of courts by 2023. Game4Padel already operates extra padel venues than every other supplier and plans to be the dominant participant within the quickest rising sport within the nation. 

Game4Padel’s Sequence-C funding spherical has additional strengthened the agency’s investor base by introducing new backers to an already various and skilled group that features firm ambassadors and broadcasters Annabel Croft and Andrew Citadel, the previous British no.1 tennis gamers, and Jonathan Davies, the Welsh rugby legend.

The corporate’s chief government is Michael Gradon,  former P&O FTSE 100 predominant board director and business/finance chair of the Wimbledon Championships.

Mr Gradon stated: “Padel is at a tipping level within the UK, when it comes to participation and recognition, and now we have an ambition to be a serious a part of that development story over the subsequent few years, utilizing our data and experience to develop one of the best services in one of the best places for one of the best total person expertise.

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“We’ve a excessive diploma of confidence that we are able to deploy all of the fairness raised in premium UK websites inside the subsequent 12 months.

“Our first 4 venues are already working forward of our monetary projections, regardless of the lockdown restrictions of the final yr, and we just lately opened a trial court docket on the prestigious 4,000-member St George’s Hill Garden Tennis Membership in Surrey, which we hope will show the case for 3 everlasting courts to be constructed there.”

Mr McMahon stated: “That is an extremely thrilling interval for our firm and for the sport of padel within the UK.

“It’s not typically a enterprise can say with certainty that it’s in the correct place on the proper time, however given the huge expertise in our group, the expansion potential of the game, our investor and capital base and the massive demand we’re experiencing, I really feel assured in saying that now.”

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