Our specialist Padel team has responded to the overwhelming requirement for expert Real Estate guidance from those in the market for building their own Padel courts and/or opening their own Padel clubs. 

Paul Burton, partner in our Real Estate Commercial team, explained: “There are multiple issues around the growth of the sport, not least of which is the demand: there is a supply issue, whereby in the UK there are circa 300-400 operational courts, but a need for circa 6000 courts to meet that current demand – which shows every sign of growing exponentially.”

The Padel Real Estate team at JMW has vast experience with dealing with landowners including sports clubs, local authorities, farmers and commercial investors on the other side, bringing together the team’s significant development, occupier, leisure and infrastructure expertise to offer bespoke and flexible solutions to suit a wide variety of situations.

“We know exactly how to flush out the issues at day one and can offer a unique viability product to check that sites are viable prior to too much initial expenditure,” Paul added. “We are able to act fast and we understand this highly competitive market and the race to open in all locations.

“We’re streamlining the legal documentation and process whereby clients can take advantage of what is effectively a one-stop-shop for their needs, working closely with our Construction and Planning teams within our Real Estate offering, and bringing in experts in our other departments, such as our Commercial colleagues who document bespoke profit share arrangements for additional elements of Padel clubs such as food and beverage and pro shops.

“Ultimately, we are the full-service law firm at the forefront of this new leisure area, driving and helping form market standards, bearing in mind that even when deals start completing data won’t be available at the Land Registry for at least six months.”

JMW spotted the Padel opportunity last year when our Padel obsessive managing partner, Marc Yaffe, was invited by a business colleague to play Padel; following a court-side conversation he realised that the desire to develop the sport was widespread, but was not matched by the necessary legal know-how when it came to negotiating on potential sites, protecting IP and drawing up the commercial agreements necessary to monetise such business ventures. 

The result was the formation of the JMW Padel Business team, comprising the firm's legal experts in the fields of Real Estate, Intellectual Property, Corporate, Commercial, and Employment. The team are currently working together on multiple separate Padel projects for clients throughout the UK.