The first £1.5 million deal for NPIF II (Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II) was closed in Cheshire. It follows the NPIF I round, which was introduced in March of this year with the £660 million support initiative. The Padel Club, founded by Kris Ball in 2020, is the first organization to win the Cheshire award. The popular padel racket game, which was first introduced in Wilmslow, is being expanded to multiple locations across the United Kingdom. With the current NPIF II-Praetura investment round from Manchester-based Praetura
With the help of Equity Finance, The Padel Club has raised £3.8 million. An existing investor, Endeavour Ventures, increased its EIS investment as part of the latest funding round. This transaction is also the first equity deal in the North West and the first deal Praetura has completed through the Fund. In order to use the money to accelerate its growth objectives, The Padel Club plans to take advantage of the strong pipeline of locations it has already established and plans to build. Although the club currently operates four courts, it recently disclosed plans to construct a new facility in TraffordCity that will feature eleven excellent courts as well as a clubhouse where players can relax and socialize. The investment from NPIF II-Praetura Equity Finance, which will also be used to build 42 new courts by 2025, will facilitate its most recent site expansions. Charlotte Kopciowski, the Padel Club’s head of finance, said:
“We are a North West-based start-up which has developed a real community at our club in Wilmslow.
“NPIF II is designed to increase the supply and diversity of early stage finance and we feel that we fit very well into this as an ambitious young company looking to grow and bring Padel to more communities. We are very excited to be partnering with Praetura and the expertise that they can add to our already strong board and management team.”
She added: “This investment will help us supercharge our growth. It will enable us to capitalise on the strong pipeline of sites that we have built and speed up our site opening plan of new clubs.”