Tennis dome finance: air domes and covered courts

• The membrane or frame and fabric, doors and entrance
• Fans, heating and back-up power for an air dome
• Lighting inside the structure
• Anchoring, foundations or ground beams around the courts
• Electrical supply and connection works
• Installation, and for seasonal domes, storage and re-erection each year

Lenders look at each part separately. The structure and plant may be fundable as equipment, while anchoring, foundations and electrical works are fixed to the site and usually need a business loan, a secured loan or the club's own funds.

Domes and covered courts usually need planning permission, and seasonal domes may be given consent for part of the year only. Building regulations, fire safety and access also apply. Insurers will want to know how the structure copes with wind and snow, and what happens if power to an air dome fails. Lenders will usually want consent and insurance in place before they complete; the Planning Portal explains how the planning process works.

Covering courts adds income from winter court hire, coaching, memberships and events, but it also adds energy, maintenance and, for seasonal domes, the cost of putting the dome up and taking it down. Lenders will look at a forecast of covered-court income against those costs, so build it on cautious booking assumptions and realistic energy prices.

A dome's membrane and plant have a limited life, so match the finance term to it. Energy costs can move sharply and eat into the extra income. Air domes depend on continuous power and need a plan for storms and outages. If the club cannot pay, a financed structure may be removed and sold for less than the amount owed, and commercial operators should expect personal guarantees.