We’ve not been short of innovative and exciting new trends in the leisure sector over the past few years. From axe throwing to esports, the industry continues to keep leisure agents like us on our toes. Now there’s a new activity ensuring we keep our eye on the ball – quite literally.
Already hugely popular across Europe and the Nordics, Padel is becoming increasingly prevalent here in the UK and we expect the sport to gain momentum as a growing number of operators look to enter the market.
One of the fastest growing sports in the world with an estimated 20-25 million players globally, Padel is played in a doubles format on an enclosed court the third of the size of a tennis court. Players use a stringless racquet and the ball can be played against the wall in a similar way to squash, making for an exciting and often unpredictable game.
In 2019 the British Padel and Lawn Tennis Association merged to create LTA Padel and the sport has gone from strength to strength in this country ever since. LTA Padel has declared that the sport is now at the ‘tipping point’ in terms of significant growth.
It’s therefore perhaps unsurprising that we have seen interest in the UK market from international operators looking to take advantage of this opportunity for expansion. Savills has recently been retained by Rocket Padel, a leading Swedish Padel Centre operator seeking to expand into the UK. But what type of space are they after?
Typically Padel centres are built with a minimum of four courts and so operators are generally looking for space of between 13,000 to 43,000 sq ft with a minimum ceiling height of 7.5 metres. As with other sports facilities, sites will also generally need to house changing rooms as well as a reception and a shop.
At Savills we’re finding that these requirements generally lend themselves to industrial units, new developments and shared units with other similar uses such as trampoline parks and climbing centres, although the opportunity that they could offer to landlords looking at repurposing vacant retail space is particularly exciting.
The courts can be assembled with relative ease, meaning that operators can be more flexible when it comes to lease length, and the centres are perfectly suited to filling large voids within parks or schemes. They also have the potential to become a new footfall driver for existing retail and leisure destinations, creating an intriguing new appeal for customers, as well as providing landlords with a chance to promote activity and wellness within their sites.
In 2019 the number of courts in the UK grew from 20 to 65. In comparison, from 2015-2020 the number of courts in Sweden rocketed from 30 to 1,400 as the popularity of the sport soared. This huge potential for growth makes this a very exciting time for the sport in the UK and we’re looking forward to being a part of it here at Savills.
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