Is Padel the best commercial investment in the UK?

The fastest growing sport in the UK, but is it worth it?

My last article on WHOOP left out a key ingredient of the perfect SW London stereotype, padel. Much like in New York or Miami, padel in London is growing at a ridiculous pace, faster than the Narcos trade of the 1980s, ironically with both tracing roots back to LatAm. Invented by Enrique Corcuera in Acapulco, Mexico in 1969, padel isn’t a new sport to Spanish-speaking countries. But as it’s evolved commercially, it’s been adopted at an aggressive rate by both investors and consumers across major European cities.

Part of the appeal is simple. You can split the cost of a court four ways instead of two, it’s less physically demanding than tennis, and it leans far more social, so it seems. It’s become the perfect middle ground, somewhere between not having access to a tennis club and not wanting to spend £20 on a Barry’s class after work, usually followed by a beer anyway.

The pay-to-play model and what clubs are charging

From a city where you can still find a £3.50 meal-deal at the supermarket, on the opposite side of the spectrum you’ve got padel venue’s charging anywhere from £40 - £150 p/hour. As you can expect, the rates vary pretty significantly depending on location, date and time, with Canary Wharf’s premium rates starting at £80 off-peak during the week, to £150 for the hour on weekends. Comparable to Reserve Padel in Hudson Yards, which comes in at a whopping $300+ p/hour.

So while on the surface, this may seem like a hefty up-front cost, how much money are these padel venue’s actually making? I decided to take a deep dive into padel venue’s in London to see for myself, taking 10 sample venues as a test.

I spoke to Alan Douglas, a representative from Playtomic, the largest software provider for booking systems in the UK for padel (80%+ market share). Alan talked about the fierce competition from investors, but equally the challenges associated with acquiring land from the council, or leasing land to build courts, which typically start at £25K up to £50K depending on the state of the surface below.

What stood out most, though, was occupancy. In London, courts are running at close to 90% (!!).

Granted, it’s always helpful to assume multiple models when running a forecast. So, let’s break it down…

Revenue estimates per court

Even on fairly conservative assumptions, the economics per court are strong. At roughly £3.3K to £4.8K in weekly revenue, you’re looking at £170K to £250K+ annually per court, before any upside from coaching, F&B or retail. Scale that across a typical London club with 4–8 courts, and you’re suddenly in the £700K to £2M+ revenue range, depending on utilisation and pricing power. What’s interesting here isn’t just the headline number, it’s how resilient the model looks. With high occupancy, relatively fixed operating hours and demand that skews heavily toward peak times, the revenue base becomes fairly predictable. The real unlock then becomes ancillary spend, lessons, leagues, events, food and drink. How much additional profit they add compared to the pay-to-play model, I’m not sure.

Padel also sits in an interesting middle ground, where players appear comfortable paying £15–25 per hour to play socially, rather than committing to £200+ per month for a membership that often offers limited incremental value beyond priority booking and marginal discounts. From a pricing psychology standpoint, the flexibility of pay-to-play feels far more aligned with consumer behaviour, suggesting the most lucrative model is not membership-led, but usage-led.

Expense estimates per court

On the cost side, the model is relatively lean once the initial build is complete. Upfront, you’re looking at roughly £25K to £70K per court depending on whether it’s a premium indoor or basic outdoor setup. Spread over a 10–15 year lifespan, that becomes far more manageable.

Ongoing costs are modest, typically £5K to £10K per court annually, excluding rent and staff, which makes for a high contribution margin business relative to revenue.

The real variable is land. Lease structures range from subsidised council deals at £5–15K per court per year, to revenue shares, up to £40K+ in prime central London, where margins tighten. Even then, with high utilisation and low operating costs, most venues still show a clear path to profitability (right?). Let’s have a look…

Padel P&L, the verdict?

When you bring the revenue and cost structure together, the model becomes pretty compelling. Even on conservative assumptions, a single court generating £172K annually can deliver £60K+ cash EBITDA in year one, despite absorbing full setup costs upfront. From year two onwards, that steps up materially to £130K+ per court, with margins pushing into the mid-70s. Scale that across even a small 2–4 court site and you’re looking at a highly cash-generative asset with payback effectively inside 12 months.

What’s the perfect model from an investors POV?

What’s arguably more interesting is what actually drives demand. Padel feels far more access-driven than quality-driven. When demand materially outstrips supply, consumers are less sensitive to premium facilities and more focused on availability and price. That dynamic opens up a different model entirely, lower CapEx, minimal staffing, and potentially self-serve venues with one or two courts.

For arguments sake, let’s assume a £40/hour court rate, well below typical London pricing, with everything else held the same. Revenue is just court bookings, no extras like coaching or F&B, and setup costs hit fully in Year 1. You’re still looking at a £95.5k cumulative EBITDA by year 3, and £54K+ EBITDA each year, all cash.

Ideally, the real opportunity is for investors to partner with existing clubs that already have planning permission for tennis courts, and convince the slightly more traditional board members (AKA old people) that padel, run as a self-serve, pay-to-play, rev-share model, perhaps with a light membership layer, actually benefits the community by being able to re-invest their profits back into the club.

Why? Because as profitable as padel can be in London, the mental stamina required to set up a facility from scratch is a marathon not a sprint, and by that time you could have invested all your cash into VOO and probably made just as much.

Unlike US country clubs, most UK tennis clubs operate on a “for the community” basis, not a profit-maximising one. Which means convincing a committee to invest in padel can feel like taking a cheese grater to the forehead, even if their members are quietly desperate to play.