1 September 2026
Investment from three family offices backs the next phase of expansion after Soul Padel proves its operating model and builds the foundations for scale.
Manchester, UK – Soul Padel has raised £3.6 million from three family offices, at a £30 million valuation, as the business moves from building and proving its model to accelerating its growth across the UK.
The investment, which includes further backing from existing shareholders alongside new investors, will fund Soul Padel’s expansion from four to ten live clubs over the next 12 months.
Six new clubs in Ayr, Washington, Warrington, Preston, Wigan and Rochdale have already secured planning permission, while the business continues to progress further sites towards its ambition of 250 courts nationwide by 2032.
The funding follows two years in which Soul Padel has proven and refined its operating model, establishing profitable clubs with utilisation consistently above 80% across both highly competitive and lower-maturity padel markets.
But the business believes its strongest foundations for growth extend beyond the courts themselves.
Since opening its first club in 2024, Soul Padel has invested ahead of the market in areas it believes are fundamental to the long-term growth of padel, including participation, inclusion, community, loyalty and customer insight.
Its What’s That Racket? programme began giving schools free access to padel in 2024, before the introduction of Soul Sisters and Soul Timers in early 2025 created dedicated communities for women and over-50s. Approaches pioneered through these programmes have since become increasingly visible across the wider UK padel market as operators place greater emphasis on broadening participation and building communities around their clubs.
In summer 2025, Soul Padel took the same approach to customer loyalty and insight with the introduction of Soul Mates, its data-led loyalty platform. It attracted 12,000 members in its first year, giving the business a depth of first-party insight into who its players are, how they play and what keeps them engaged.
That early investment in data is now helping shape the next stage of growth. Soul Padel has developed clear criteria around the towns, locations and partners best suited to its model, while customer insight informs the experience and programming within each club.
Mark Hewlett, CEO and Founder of Soul Padel, said:
“This investment is a significant milestone for Soul Padel. We’ve spent the last few years proving and refining our model, learning from our clubs and putting the foundations in place to grow with confidence.
“The continued backing of investors who have been with us from the beginning, alongside new investors joining the business, reflects both what we’ve built and the opportunity ahead.
“We’ve always believed that building a successful padel business is about much more than putting courts in the ground. From taking padel into schools and creating dedicated communities for women and older players, to investing in loyalty and customer data, we’ve consistently tried to anticipate what the market will need next.
“It’s been encouraging to see many of those areas become a much bigger focus across padel as the sport has grown. For us, that early work means we’re entering our next phase with programmes, insight and experience that have already been developed and tested within our clubs.
“We’ve learnt a huge amount from our first locations. We know what we’re looking for in a location, a town and a partner, and we have much greater insight into the communities we’re entering.
“The next 12 months will take us from four to ten clubs, but we’re not trying to create ten identical venues. We have a proven model and programmes that we know work, while every Soul Padel club will be shaped by its local community. That’s fundamental to how we believe a national brand should grow.”
Soul Padel is also preparing for the next phase of its technology and digital transformation, building on the foundations established through Soul Mates as the business scales towards its long-term ambition of 250 courts nationwide by 2032.
About Soul Padel
Soul Padel is a UK-based padel operator with a mission of welcoming everyone to the court. Its clubs combine high-quality facilities with a community-led approach designed to make padel accessible to a broader range of players.
Through initiatives including Soul Sisters, Soul Timers, What’s That Racket?, Play it Forward and Youth Club, alongside its Soul Mates loyalty platform, Soul Padel aims to grow participation and create places where people can meet, play and connect.
Soul Padel currently operates in Stockport, St Helens, Braehead and Loughborough University, with six further clubs planned in Ayr, Washington, Warrington, Preston, Wigan and Rochdale over the next 12 months.
For more information about the partnership, please contact:
Mark Hewlett
Email: mark@soulpadel.co.uk
Phone: 07961310078
Website: soulpadel.co.uk
