Padel club finance for courts, venues and new sites

Padel is played on an enclosed court, 20 metres by 10 metres, with glass back walls and mesh sides, and is mostly played as doubles. A club's income comes mainly from court hire booked and paid online, often through a booking app, with memberships, coaching, leagues, social sessions and corporate events on top. Many clubs add a café or bar, a small shop and racket hire, and that secondary spend can make a real difference to margins.

Demand bunches into weekday evenings and weekends, so the commercial question is how well a club fills daytime and off-peak slots. Outdoor courts also depend on the weather and on daylight, which is why many operators add floodlights or a canopy, or choose an indoor building from the start. The main costs are the courts themselves, groundworks or building works, lighting, rent or land costs, staff, energy and insurance, with turf, glass and lighting needing repair and replacement over time.

• Buying and installing courts for a new club, or adding courts at a tennis, golf or leisure venue
• Groundworks, drainage, base slabs and fencing for outdoor courts
• Fitting out a warehouse or industrial unit as an indoor padel centre
• Covering outdoor courts with a canopy so they can be played all year
• Floodlighting, booking and access control systems
• A clubhouse, café or bar, changing rooms and a pro shop
• Opening costs, staff and marketing before bookings build
• A second or third site once the first club is trading well

A new club has no trading record, so lenders rely heavily on the owners: personal guarantees are common, and our guide to personal guarantees explains what that means. A lease shorter than the finance term, or planning conditions that cut evening hours, can undermine the numbers. Padel has grown quickly, and new clubs nearby can change local demand, so test your booking forecast against the competition within easy reach of your site.

Think about the cost of keeping courts in good condition, and whether a supplier payment plan, a landlord incentive or Sport England and other grant funding for community use would cover part of the cost without borrowing. Capital allowances such as the Annual Investment Allowance may apply to some of the equipment; ask your accountant how they apply to your project.