Shepton Mallett, Cricklade, Wimborne, Grimsby, Kings Lynn, Bedford… these may not be bustling and vibrant big cities, but they are the natural habitat of Padel People.
Launched in summer 2023 by George Sandbach and James Rock, Padel People has since grown to six venues, with four more scheduled to open in the next three months. Although their club empire will continue to grow, the size of each club will not.
As Padel People co-founder Sandbach explains to The Padel Paper, their speciality is smaller clubs that fulfil demand in more provincial areas which often lack adequate provision.
“Our model has always been bringing padel clubs to where people don’t have access to padel,” he says. “That’s why we started Padel People, because we live in Oxford and we had nowhere to play.
“We’re never going to compete with the big boys like Rocket Padel, Padel Social Club, Slazenger etc. We’re not about super premium, spa and ice baths. We’re very much a sport facility near your front door.”
This model arguably makes site research even more vital than it is for other operators. By targeting less populated areas, Sandbach (pictured) and Rock need to make absolutely sure any new location is viable and that they’re across any potential local competitors’ plans (with whom they will share a small customer pool).
Using Claude AI, Sandbach has built his own online tool (akin to Playskan and Padel Genie) to monitor all existing padel venues as well as planning applications, and cross-reference them on a map with population data, so they can spot opportunities and assess potential competitors.
Sandbach’s bespoke software gives a ranking score of areas in need, which he combines with “common sense” to make business decisions.
“Would we build an eight-court centre in Kings Lynn, for example?” he explains. “Technically there’s demand for it, but that’s a big unit with a lot of staff that’s got to last for 20 years and beyond. If a local farmer opens three courts in a barn nearby, that would affect us.
“We take the data with a pinch of salt. Kings Lynn has 60,000 people within a 15-minute drive, so theoretically there’s room for 10 courts, but we’d probably look at half that. Ten is just too high a risk. You don’t want surplus. In those kind of areas, you start small, get full, then expand.”
Sandbach uses the example of Padel People’s club in Corsham, Wiltshire, which has four doubles courts and two singles. “Someone else has opened a two-court venue nearby, but it hasn’t killed us,” he explains. “If we had 10 courts, that other club would take away some of our customers and effect us massively. But because demand is so good, it won’t.
“Ultimately we’re doing this to provide padel for people. We’re not going to pay huge rent to make massive profits. We want to provide people somewhere to play and a vibrant social scene. If there’s demand, we can grow economically.
“We love padel. We’re not in this to make money then get out in two years. We want a sustainable business. We want to build a community, be profitable and stand the test of time, not worry about someone else opening nearby.”
Padel People’s AI-built software also provides light and noise data, making planning applications much less cumbersome and time-consuming. They also have court planning and visualisation tools to facilitate discussions with landlords and planning departments.
Whatever the data tells them, Padel People won’t compromise on their ‘start small’ model. Sandbach says: “We will never be the biggest, but operationally we will always be very good. We make sure that anyone who wants to play is looked after really well.”
