NPIF II (Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II) has closed its first £1.5 million deal in Cheshire. It comes after the NPIF I round, with the launch of the £660 million support initiative in March of this year. Kris Ball started the Padel Club in 2020, and it is the first recipient of the Cheshire award. After its original introduction in Wilmslow, it seeks to expand the popular padel racket game to several sites throughout the United Kingdom. With the current investment round from Manchester-based Praetura’s NPIF II-Praetura
Equity Finance, The Padel Club has raised a total of £3.8m. As part of the most recent funding round, Endeavour Ventures, an existing investor, contributed more EIS investment. The transaction also represents Praetura’s first deal accomplished through the Fund and the first equity deal in the North West. The Padel Club intends to leverage the solid pipeline of locations it has established and aims to build in order to leverage the funds to accelerate its growth goals. The club now runs four courts, but it recently revealed plans to build a new facility in TraffordCity with eleven top-notch courts and a clubhouse where players can unwind and mingle. Its most recent site expansions will be made easier by the investment from NPIF II-Praetura Equity Finance, which will also be used to construct 42 new courts by 2025. The Padel Club’s head of finance, Charlotte Kopciowski, stated:
“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.”
