Padel Project UK bid to ‘build 1000 courts’

Padel Project UK are yet another new entrant to the industry – but co-founders Tim Foster and James Ash stand out for their community focus, ambition and diverse routes into the sport.

Tim and James met in the City of London but grew up not far from each other in Darlington and Ripon respectively. Before pivoting into padel, James worked in finance for a decade. Tim played professional rugby union for Leeds Tykes, Rotherham and London Wasps, then developed specialised supported housing for vulnerable adults with severe autism and personality disorders.

Sport was often inaccessible to Tim during his childhood in County Durham, which is partly what motivated Padel Project UK to focus on growing the sport to all demographics in the community – especially those who may usually face barriers to participation.

In addition to a site in Lytham St Anne’s, Lancashire (which they’ll soon be doubled from two courts to four), Padel Project UK has converted some derelict tennis courts into a floodlit two-court padel facility at Old Owen’s Sports Ground in Potters Bar, North London.

The courts will be open 8am-10pm seven days a week and share use of the pre-existing club bar, shop, changing rooms and Thai restaurant. There are free introductory sessions every Sunday morning and the duo are already forging links with local schools and charities with a view to offering free coaching sessions and court time.

“Something like tennis wasn’t an option for me growing up in the north east. My parents weren’t in that situation,” Tim told The Padel Paper. “That’s why our ethos of opening the facility up to the community really appeals to me. I’ve been on the other side of that which isn’t a great place to be.”

James added: “We want to use the club as an outreach centre to get all sorts of local people involved. The long-term benefits of getting people involved in the sport, who will then spread the word and come down and play again, more than pays for itself. This attitude of, ‘Sorry, if you can’t pay you’re not playing’ is pretty short-sighted.”

Building 1000 courts

Padel Project UK’s press release contained an eye-catching ambition – they intend to build 1000 padel courts and become “the leading owner and operator of padel centres for communities across the UK.”

They will certainly be helped in this quest by securing over £1.1m funding from Arbor Ventures and by the assistance of padel entrepreneur Steve Riley, founder of ‘Will to Win’ (now ‘Park Sports’) which installed and operated the padel courts at London’s Hyde and Regent’s Park. These assets will help the company gain momentum with their short-term target of opening 20+ centres in the next two years.

“Yes, 1000 courts is an ambitious target, but I think we can deliver on it,” said James.

“We looked at the number of padel courts in the Spanish market and the population of Spain – and the number of tennis courts in the UK. Based on those numbers, if we develop 1000 courts we would have a small percentage of a mature British padel market.

“We believe we can build a team with an operational capacity and marketing function to roll out that many courts. That is not in question. With each year that goes by, the number of courts goes up, but awareness is still probably a single-digit percentage. However, awareness is growing faster than courts are being built, so demand is only going up.”

Steve added: “I am thrilled to be working with Padel Project UK. We have a highly ambitious vision to bring padel to everyone in the UK. I have developed a strong network in the sports world over many years and look forward to executing many opportunities. Potters Bar is a great new location for us and is already hosting lots of new players.

“The team is fully immersed into the padel world and knows what is required to grow Padel Project UK. All our padel venues will be true to our core values, and we will build centres that deliver a friendly, accessible and affordable offer that bring out the fun and social side of the game.”