MATCHi, which has made the world of racket sports more accessible for thousands of venues and millions of players around the world, has become the official booking partner for Game4Padel, which operates more padel venues than any other UK provider and is one of the fastest-growing companies within the fastest growing sport in the UK.
MATCHi was founded in 2012 and quickly established itself as an industry leader, offering its comprehensive services to more than 1,400 venues in 15 countries, including some of the largest padel chains across the world. The Swedish scale-up business deploys a user-friendly online booking platform for the benefit of players, making it easy to book courts, pay for them, and find playing partners.
In MATCHi’s domestic market of Sweden, padel has grown exponentially in the last seven years, from 14 courts and 600 players in 2014 to 3,500 courts and more than half-a-million players in 2021. MATCHi – which recently signed deals with Swedish giant Padel United, and Danish market leader Racket Club – has played a key role in facilitating that growth by making the sport and its playing facilities more accessible to players.
Game4Padel is anticipating a similar rate of growth in the UK over the next decade and plans to cement its position as the dominant player in the market by building up to 300 new courts within the next five years. The company has secured 23 venues to date and is in discussions with some 50 potential sites, each of which is likely to be interested in installing between three and eight courts on average. Last month, Game4Padel was valued at £18 million after completing its fourth funding round, securing £3 million from private investors to accelerate its plans.
In November 2021, the company announced a partnership with golf’s governing body, The R&A, and it has also agreed on a 10-year lease to operate courts at the Westfield shopping center in west London.
Johan Rogebrant, Chief Growth Officer at MATCHi, said:
“This is a really exciting new partnership for us and a significant milestone as we enter the UK market. The UK has been a priority for us as we see great potential for it to be the next Sweden in terms of padel participation and venues, and the growth we’ve seen lately is a testament to that. With the help of an industry leader and highly knowledgeable partner like Game4Padel by our side, we aim to take the padel scene in the UK to new heights.”
Vincent Hivert, Growth & Participation Director at Game4Padel, said:
“We have very ambitious plans to grow both the game of padel and our business over the next decade and beyond. Having a reliable partner by our side will be crucial to our ability to do so, and we feel confident that we’ve found that in MATCHi, not least because the team there has experienced this journey before in the Swedish market and elsewhere. The UK has a population six times the size of Sweden’s, so the opportunity here is clear.
“Padel is an accessible, exciting, and sociable game, and we believe it is crucial that the digital experience matches the on-court experience. The partnership with MATCHi will allow all padel players to book courts and padel activities at Game4Padel venues in their area quickly and easily. It is an exciting time for Game4Padel, and we hope to reach more players thanks to this agreement with MATCHi.”
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MATCHi exists to empower people in racket sports through user-friendly tech. MATCHi’s booking platform helps clubs administer less and connects venues with players through its marketplace. Founded in 2012, MATCHi was created to facilitate the growth of racket sports and has in recent years grown to become one of the world’s largest companies in the segment. With more than 1400 venues, over 1 million players, and close to 80 employees spread out across the globe, MATCHi’s vision is to be the go-to platform for the global racket sports community.
More info: www.matchi.com
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