International hockey player Ben Davies, who was selected for Great Britain at the 1996 Olympic Games, is joining the board of Lancashire-based Soul Padel.
Davies, who also played for Wales, will bring his elite sporting experience to the padel operator plus strong financial acumen gained during 20 years in investment and trading.
The 51-year-old will take up a non-executive director role in the company.
Davies has established an excellent reputation in the financial and start-up sector and is the founder of two fintech businesses that have scaled across the US, UK, Europe and South Asia.
He is also the founder of the Hinde Capital hedge fund, the co-founder of Glint Pay, which enables payments in gold as opposed to cash; Atlas Consolidated Pte, a financial technology company; Hugosave, a B2C savings business, and award-winning HugoBank.
His track record will bolster Soul Padel’s drive for investors to support them in growing the sport in the UK. The business recently announced it had secured approved SEIS status from HMRC.
However, it is Davies’ passion for sport and for enabling others to pursue their own sporting pathway that was behind his decision to join Soul Padel.
He said: “As a youngster, I was inspired by international sports legends to want to play at the highest level and while I was born with some natural ability, that only gets you so far. I have an undying gratitude to teachers and coaches who believed in me and supported the tough journey of an aspiring athlete.
“It’s almost 30 years since I received my first international hockey cap for Wales seniors and
a few years later became a member of the Great Britain Olympic squad for Atlanta ‘96. The
passion and privilege of playing for your country with like-minded individuals is something I would wish for everyone.
“Even though most of us will play for its innate joy, grassroots are the bedrock of performance sports.”
Davies was also drawn to the business by the passion and business experience of its founder Mark Hewlett.
He added: “Mark’s purpose for founding the business encapsulates who he is at his core: a man who values the importance of community connection through both fun and competitive play.
“I want to be engaged in a wonderful and purposeful growth business. Soul Padel can foster grassroots sport with its beautiful mantra ‘Meet, Play and Connect’. Mark has captured the essence of padel with these words.
“The padel business model is simple. It’s a replica of any ‘retail’ outlet. It’s commercial real estate, distribution, logistics and retail intelligence. Retail is detail. And Mark knows the details.
“Despite his unique qualifications, he won me over at the word ‘padel’.”
Soul Padel is planning to open a number of indoor facilities, including a centre of excellence, to meet much-needed demand and be instrumental in the growth of the sport in the United Kingdom.
The company, which also aims to create community hubs through padel, has identified various locations across north-west England
Hewlett said: “Ben will be a tremendous addition to Soul Padel. He is extremely passionate about sport and its importance on health and wellbeing, while his financial expertise will be an incredible asset to help grow the business.”
See also: Soul Padel ‘bringing padel to the people’ in West Lancs
