Arsenal in talks with architects Populous over Emirates expansion Sport Business Arsenal are in talks with Populous, the architects behind the original Emirates Stadium design, as they weigh up how best to expand their 60,000-seater home. Sources familiar with the process insist that all options remain on the table, from major works that would likely require a temporary a move away from the Emirates, to smaller [...]
Stormzy-backed Padel Social Club raises £5.5m to open three new sites Sport Business Stormzy-backed Padel Social Club has raised £5.5m from new investors to open three new sites across London. It comes as the business prepares to add a total of 17 new courts at sites at the O2, in Kentish Town and Paddington this year. The fresh investment includes leading consumer investors Clark Group and Active Partners, [...]
Padel’s growth phase is largely behind it, so what comes next? Sport Business Padel hasn’t taken off in the UK by accident. It has grown quickly because it arrived at exactly the right moment. Like many sports, it benefited from Covid-19. At a time when people were looking for ways to stay active and social, padel offered something simple: it was easy to pick up, played in small [...]
Exclusive: Olympia to host Premier Padel Tour London leg April 8, 2026 Olympia will today be confirmed as the host venue for the Premier Padel Tour, as it heads to London for the first time this year. City AM revealed in December that the Kensington site was the front runner to host the tournament, which has the support of the Lawn Tennis Association. The event – known [...]
Premier Padel Tour heading to major London venue in 2026 December 18, 2025 The Premier Padel Tour will head to London for the first time next August as the sport continues to grow across Britain. A venue has not yet been confirmed but City AM understands that Olympia in Kensington is the overwhelming favorite. It is part of a multi-year deal to bring a leg of the Premier [...]
Murray-backed Hexagon Cup to become global padel series in deal with LIV Golf creator 54 December 17, 2025 The Hexagon Cup, the team-based padel competition backed by stars including Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, is to expand into a global circuit, the Hexagon World Series. It will see multiple events take place around the world each year under the governance of the International Padel Federation, and aligned with the elite Premier Padel circuit [...]
Padel match booking firm raises £4.5m in major fund raise December 16, 2025 Major padel match booking app Playtomic has raised €5.1m from an investment raise which will see thousands of players become shareholders. The big-money fund raise closed this month with more than 4,600 investors buying into the social padel service to the tune of £4.5m. The fund was organised through private equity market investment platform Crowdcube, [...]
Padel Rally 2025: Fast cars and the world’s fastest growing sport November 10, 2025 Millions of pounds worth of Porsches, Ferraris and Jaguars were spread out beneath me as I peered over the mezzanine at Joe Macari’s showroom in Wandsworth, south London. But my attention was drawn to the enormous screen above where, pixel by pixel, The Padel Rally logo I’d designed a year ago was loading. You can [...]
Exclusive: Padel pioneers to set up pro pickleball circuit in Europe and Middle East November 10, 2025 A professional pickleball circuit is coming to Europe and the Middle East in 2026 in a move its founders hope can replicate the racquet sport’s explosive growth in the US. Pickleball – played on small courts and popular with both celebrities including Dua Lipa and Emma Watson and former tennis stars such as Maria Sharapova [...]
World’s biggest padel club: Rowland eyes mega project after taking racket sport public November 5, 2025 British entrepreneur Jonathan Rowland has stepped up plans to build the world’s biggest padel venue by creating the first listed investment vehicle focused on niche racket sports. Rowland today announced a deal to use Aquis-listed VVV Sports to acquire his R3 Sport, which operates tournaments, manages players, and has retail and distribution partnerships in padel. [...]