Andy Murray-backed Game4Padel business valued at £10m

A BUSINESS backed by Scottish tennis star Andy Murray has been valued at £10 million in a £1.3 million funding round, as it pursues development of a UK-wide network of playing facilities for “one of the world’s fastest-growing participation sports”.

Game4Padel announced completion of its third successful funding round this morning, revealing it had raised the £1.3m to help finance its expansion plans for padel, the tennis-squash hybrid game that it notes is “spreading rapidly across the UK, continental Europe and the rest of the world”. It noted the latest equity-raise had valued it at £10m.

The new capital will go towards building up to 300 new courts within the next five years. The company noted its two previous fundraising exercises – on inception in 2019 and then in March 2020 – had both been “heavily oversubscribed”, raising a total of £1.25m.

It added: “The company is deploying capital so quickly, to meet the growing demand for padel courts from a range of UK partners, that it is already considering launching a fourth round of fundraising later this summer to ensure it can keep pace with demand.”

When he announced he was adding to his investment portfolio with a stake in Game4Padel in May 2019, Wimbledon, US Open and Olympic champion Andy Murray said: “It’s great for young people to play a variety of sports and Padel is a fast-paced game which is excellent for developing hand eye co-ordination and racket skills.”

Last month, Game4Padel signed heads of terms with Europe’s largest retail destination, Westfield London, to install and operate three covered outdoor courts and two pop-up show courts. Subject to planning, the three permanent courts are expected to open in January next year.

In April, as the UK emerged from the latest lockdown, Game4Padel opened a padel venue in Wales, at Windsor Penarth near Cardiff.