A law firm in Manchester has formed a specialist team to guide people through the legal maze of building padel courts and clubs.
As reported previously by The Padel Paper, the complexities of securing planning permission are a particularly major roadblock for would-be padel entrepreneurs in the UK.
Full-service law firm JMW Solicitors has responded to demand for legal guidance in this area for clients seeking to build their own padel courts and/or open padel clubs – and its team is already working on 37 separate projects throughout the UK.
JMW has joined its legal experts in the fields of Real Estate, Intellectual Property, Corporate, Commercial and Employment to create what the firm believes is a unique offering.
JMW spotted the opportunity last year when its Managing Partner (and padel addict) Marc Yaffe was invited by a business colleague to play padel at his home. Following a court-side conversation, he realised that the desire to develop the sport was widespread, but was not matched by the necessary legal know-how when it came to negotiating on potential sites, protecting IP and drawing up the commercial agreements necessary to monetise such business ventures.
Marc Yaffe said: “The key element of our offering isn’t just the legal expertise to be found at our firm, but our determination and desire to work together across multiple specialisms with the aim of delivering a fast, effective and specialised service to those in the fast-growing padel sector.”
JMW has already held its own ‘Women in Padel’ tournament at The Padel Club in Wilmslow. An equivalent men’s event is to follow at Pure Padel in Alderley Edge next month.
The firm is also a commercial sponsor of Manchester city centre’s first padel club, Club de Padel, situated between the iconic towers of Deansgate Square in Manchester’s New Jackson neighbourhood.
“A particular bonus of padel is the unique networking it offers,” added Marc. “It is a sport that has captured the imagination, not only of those in the professional services industry but also the many entrepreneurs to be found in the North West. We fully expect our padel project to mature into a key offering of the firm and we intend to have a lot of fun playing the game with clients and contacts alike.”
