A defensible way to value a padel club

There is no credible standard price for a padel club—or dependable value per court. A defensible estimate defines exactly what is being sold, verifies historical performance, normalizes earnings and cash flow, checks genuinely comparable transactions, and adjusts for property, leases, debt, deferred maintenance and required investment. The useful answer is usually a documented low-to-high range, not a single headline number.

The short answer: value the club, not the court count

Court count helps explain revenue capacity, but it does not establish value. Two six-court clubs can be worth materially different amounts because of their:

• Realized hourly prices
• Peak and off-peak occupancy
• Membership retention and booking frequency
• Payroll, rent, utilities and maintenance costs
• Indoor or outdoor operating exposure
• Facility condition and near-term capital requirements
• Lease security or property ownership
• Local competition and planned court supply
• Revenue concentration and durability

Before calculating anything, define the subject of the valuation. A proposed transaction might include:

1. The operating company, including contracts, staff, systems and trading history.
2. Equipment and goodwill, such as courts, lighting, furniture, customer relationships and brand value.
3. Leasehold rights, where the operator occupies a rented site.
4. Freehold land and buildings, if the real estate is owned.
5. A combined package containing some or all of the above.

These are not interchangeable. An enterprise value for the operating company does not automatically include freehold property, while an asset sale may exclude cash, debt, receivables or other balance-sheet items.

Padel’s global expansion provides context, not a valuation. The International Padel Federation reported more than 24,600 facilities and roughly 77,300 courts worldwide, but supplied no club sale prices, earnings, cash flow or valuation multiples. Rapid construction can also increase local supply as well as demand. FIP’s 2025 report documents infrastructure growth, not transaction values.

The same distinction applies to construction budgets, projected revenue and industry growth rates. A development budget estimates what it might cost to create a facility under specified conditions. Projected revenue estimates future sales under chosen assumptions. Neither establishes the market value of an operating club.

The information needed before estimating value

A buyer or valuer needs enough evidence to reconstruct the club’s economics and identify obligations that may not be obvious from booking revenue.

Financial records

Request at least three years of:

• Financial statements and tax records
• Monthly management accounts
• Bank statements and cash reconciliations
• Accounts receivable, inventory and payable schedules
• Debt agreements and repayment schedules
• Capital-expenditure and maintenance records
• Owner compensation and related-party transactions

Revenue should be separated into court bookings, memberships, coaching, tournaments, corporate events, sponsorships, retail, equipment rental, and food and beverage. Costs should separately identify payroll, rent, utilities, insurance, maintenance, booking software, marketing, professional fees and taxes.

Booking and customer data

Monthly totals are not enough. Obtain court-level booking records showing:

• Available and booked hours
• Peak and off-peak occupancy
• Published and realized hourly prices
• Discounts, promotions and complimentary use
• Cancellations and no-shows
• Indoor and outdoor utilization
• Seasonality by month and day of the week

Also examine membership numbers, retention or attrition, waitlists, booking frequency and customer concentration. Revenue dependent on one coach, corporate customer, event organizer or temporary promotion is less durable than diversified repeat demand.

Facilities and required investment

Document the number and type of courts, indoor or outdoor exposure, lighting, changing rooms, clubhouse facilities, parking, retail space and food-service areas. Record installation dates, equipment age, maintenance history and the likely timing of court, lighting, HVAC, roof or surface replacement.

A useful inspection separates routine maintenance from deferred work. Costs avoided by the seller do not disappear; they generally become a buyer’s capital requirement or a price adjustment.

Contracts, property and liabilities

Review:

• The lease, amendments and landlord correspondence
• Permits, zoning and accessibility compliance
• Employment and coaching arrangements
• Supplier, software and equipment contracts
• Insurance policies and claims
• Litigation or threatened disputes
• Prepaid memberships, credits and bookings
• Deposits and other customer liabilities
• Cash, debt and normal working-capital requirements

A broad racquet-club due-diligence checklist recommends reviewing at least three years of financial results, together with memberships, facilities, compliance, working capital and future capital needs. It concerns tennis clubs rather than padel, so it is useful as an operational checklist—not as padel transaction evidence.

Finally, distinguish a mature club from a recent opening. A mature venue can be assessed using established utilization, retention and cost patterns. A new club may still be building awareness and occupancy, but forecasts should not automatically replace verified results. The model should identify which improvements are already evidenced and which remain speculative.

Three valuation approaches—and what each can actually show

The market, income and cost approaches answer different questions. A 2016 IVSC exposure draft describes all three and says divergent results should be investigated rather than averaged mechanically. It is consultation material, not proof of a currently binding standard, and it supplies no padel-specific multiples. The IVSC exposure draft explains the approaches and the role of reliable market evidence.

Approach	Calculation basis	Best use	Evidence and principal limitation
Market	Completed comparable transactions or supported valuation multiples	Testing what informed buyers have paid for similar businesses	Requires similarity in geography, maturity, profitability, scale, property rights and risk. The available evidence supplies no dependable universal padel multiple or per-court price.
Income	Normalized EBITDA or a defined free-cash-flow measure, valued using a supported multiple, capitalization rate or discounted-cash-flow model	Valuing an established club from sustainable economic returns	Sensitive to normalization, forecasts and the chosen rate or multiple. The valuation input and method must correspond.
Cost	Current replacement cost of courts, equipment and other assets, adjusted for age, condition and obsolescence	Asset context and reasonableness checks	Development cost does not capture proven demand, profitability, goodwill, liabilities or site control—and does not equal operating-business value.

Market approach. A useful comparable is a completed transaction involving a club with similar economics and transferred rights. Asking prices and fundraising headlines are weaker evidence than completed sales. Adjustments may be necessary for location, court mix, real estate, lease security, margins, scale and growth expectations.

Income approach. Begin with normalized EBITDA or a clearly defined free-cash-flow measure rather than gross revenue. An EBITDA multiple converts maintainable EBITDA into indicative enterprise value. A capitalization rate may be applied to a suitably defined sustainable income stream, while a discounted-cash-flow model values projected cash flows and a terminal value. The selected multiple or discount rate must match the financial measure being valued.

Cost approach. Replacement cost can indicate whether a buyer could reproduce the physical assets more cheaply and can help quantify refurbishment needs. It may be particularly relevant when earnings are weak or assets can be sold separately. But an unprofitable club is not automatically worth its original construction cost, while a profitable venue with secure site control may be worth more than its depreciated equipment.

Using more than one approach can expose weak assumptions. If the income result greatly exceeds comparable transactions or replacement context, investigate whether forecasts are too optimistic, the comparables are genuinely different, or valuable property and intangible rights have been treated inconsistently.

Worked example: why court revenue is only the first line of the calculation

The basic gross court-hire formula is:

Courts × available hours per day × operating days × occupancy × realized hourly price

Consider a four-court planning example:

• Four courts
• 12 available hours per day
• 360 operating days
• 40% occupancy
• €12–€15 realized revenue per occupied court-hour

Applying those inputs gives:

4 × 12 × 360 × 40% × €12–€15 = €82,944–€103,680

This is a planning illustration, not a verified club result or market benchmark. It also excludes operating expenses, taxes, financing and capital expenditure. The original four-court illustration is published by Padelcreations.

Ancillary revenue can be added only where the subject club’s records support it:

• Memberships
• Coaching and academies
• Leagues and tournaments
• Corporate or private events
• Sponsorships
• Equipment rental and retail
• Food and beverage

Do not assume that every possible stream exists or produces a profit. Coaching revenue may require additional payroll; food and beverage can create inventory waste and staffing costs; events may displace ordinary bookings.

The first bridge is from revenue to normalized EBITDA:

Gross court-hire revenue
+ Verified ancillary revenue
= Total revenue

- Payroll and contractor costs
- Rent or market occupancy cost
- Utilities
- Insurance
- Maintenance and cleaning
- Booking software and payment fees
- Marketing
- Administrative and professional costs
- Operating taxes other than income tax
= Reported EBITDA before normalization

+/- Owner-specific adjustments
+/- Exceptional or non-recurring adjustments
= Normalized EBITDA

Normalized EBITDA is calculated before interest, income tax, depreciation, amortization, capital expenditure and working-capital investment. Owner-specific adjustments might include above- or below-market management pay, personal expenses, related-party rent or work performed without proper compensation. Exceptional items could include one-off opening costs, litigation expenses or unusually large repairs.

Every adjustment should be documented. “Normalization” should not become a way to remove ordinary operating costs or recurring maintenance.

Free cash flow requires a separate calculation. A simplified bridge is:

Normalized EBITDA
- Cash taxes applicable to the chosen cash-flow measure
- Recurring and necessary capital expenditure
- Increase in working capital
+ Decrease in working capital
+/- Other relevant cash and non-cash adjustments
= Defined free-cash-flow measure

The exact bridge depends on whether the model uses cash flow before or after financing and how it treats depreciation, interest and taxes. Whatever definition is selected must be used consistently with the valuation method and discount rate.

Normalized EBITDA may support an EBITDA-multiple analysis. A defined free-cash-flow forecast may support a discounted-cash-flow analysis. They are related measures, but they are not interchangeable.

In either case, the model should use realized prices rather than peak tariffs, separate peak from off-peak utilization and avoid assuming full occupancy.

What the PadelCity transaction does—and does not—tell us

The PadelCity deal is useful because it illustrates the difference between investment amount, enterprise value and equity value. It is not a shortcut to the value of one club.

Transaction measure	Compagnie des Alpes disclosure	Industry publication
Investment and stake	€20 million for 33.9%	Same transaction terms
Funding mix	€12 million of new capital; €8 million to buy existing shares	Same split
Valuation reference	Roughly €50 million enterprise value	€55 million enterprise-value reference; estimated post-money equity value above €65 million
Operating scale	17 centers and 117 courts at the end of 2025; 24 centers at the July 2026 announcement	Growth from 17 to 24 clubs

Because €12 million of the investment went into PadelCity and €8 million purchased existing shares, the full €20 million was not paid to existing shareholders. The reported enterprise-value references and the industry publication’s post-money equity estimate are also not interchangeable.

• Enterprise value represents the value of the operating enterprise before considering how it is financed.
• Equity value represents the amount attributable to shareholders after relevant balance-sheet adjustments.
• Post-money equity value includes new capital invested in the financing round.
• Seller proceeds are the cash existing shareholders receive after the transaction’s deductions and costs.

A simplified conceptual bridge is:

Equity value = enterprise value + cash − debt and debt-like obligations

Actual transactions may also adjust for normalized working capital, leases, transaction expenses, minority interests and other agreed items. The PadelCity disclosures illustrate why the balance-sheet bridge and funding mix must be examined rather than treating investment amount, enterprise value and shareholder proceeds as equivalent.

Dividing the platform valuation by 24 centers—or by a court count—would create a weak single-club benchmark. PadelCity was a multi-site growth company whose value may include central management, brand, technology, purchasing scale, portfolio diversification and expansion options that one venue does not possess.

Its targets of 40 centers, 350 courts, approximately €50 million in annualized revenue and a 42% normalized IFRS EBITDA margin were end-of-2026 forecasts, not achieved historical results, as the Compagnie des Alpes announcement makes clear. A buyer valuing one established club should not apply platform forecasts as though they were audited venue economics.

Property, leases, liabilities, and capital expenditure can change the answer

For a freehold club, analyze the land and buildings separately from the operating company and then reconcile the results. This avoids counting the same economic benefit twice.

The reconciliation rule should be explicit:

• If the operating business is valued separately and the freehold property is then added, normalize the business’s earnings for a market occupancy cost before applying the business valuation method.
• If the valued cash flow already includes the economic return attributable to ownership of the property, do not add the full property appraisal again.

Without that adjustment, an owner-occupied club could be valued once through earnings that contain no market rent and again through the separately appraised property.

A property appraisal should consider the site’s existing use, physical condition, planning constraints and alternative uses. In some markets, the land or building may be worth more for redevelopment than continued operation as a padel club.

Specialized leisure property may be assessed partly through trading potential. However, the relevant IVSC material is a 2012 discussion paper, not an approved current standard. It also records disagreement over how reliably property value can be separated from brand, goodwill and other business contributions. The IVSC discussion paper outlines the profits method and the debate around trade-related property.

For a leased club, examine:

• Remaining lease term
• Current rent and scheduled reviews
• Renewal rights and break clauses
• Assignment or change-of-control restrictions
• Landlord consent requirements
• Repairing and reinstatement obligations
• Deposits and guarantees
• Responsibility for roofs, structure, utilities and major systems
• The risk that the lease expires before the buyer recovers its investment

Strong operating results have limited transferable value if the venue can lose its site shortly after completion. Conversely, a long lease at favorable rent may create valuable leasehold rights, subject to transferability.

Likely price deductions or completion adjustments include:

• Bank debt and shareholder loans
• Debt-like lease or contractual burdens
• Deferred court and lighting replacement
• Building, roof or HVAC work
• Permit, accessibility or compliance problems
• Prepaid memberships, credits and bookings
• Working-capital shortfalls
• Necessary booking, access-control or payment-system upgrades
• Other refurbishment required to sustain current earnings

Construction-cost estimates should be used to quantify replacement requirements or future capital needs, not as an automatic valuation floor. The relevant questions are what condition the assets are in, what spending is now required and whether the business earns an adequate return on them.

Build a low, base, and high valuation range

An indicative range makes uncertainty visible. The low case should represent a plausible downside, the base case should reflect supportable performance, and the high case should require evidence rather than optimism.

Input	Low	Base	High
Realized hourly price	Enter	Enter	Enter
Peak occupancy	Enter	Enter	Enter
Off-peak occupancy	Enter	Enter	Enter
Ancillary revenue	Enter	Enter	Enter
Payroll	Enter	Enter	Enter
Rent or market occupancy cost	Enter	Enter	Enter
Utilities	Enter	Enter	Enter
Maintenance	Enter	Enter	Enter
Normalized EBITDA	Calculate	Calculate	Calculate
Recurring capital expenditure	Enter	Enter	Enter
Working-capital movement	Enter	Enter	Enter
Defined free cash flow	Calculate	Calculate	Calculate

Do not prefill a supposedly standard padel multiple. Enter a valuation multiple, capitalization rate or discount rate only when supported by local completed transactions, lender appraisals or a qualified valuer’s analysis. Match the valuation input to the method: an EBITDA multiple should be applied to normalized EBITDA, while a discounted-cash-flow model should use the defined cash flow associated with its discount rate.

Use this calculation sequence:

1. Operating assumptions to revenue Model peak and off-peak court hours separately, apply realized prices, and add only substantiated ancillary income.

2. Revenue to normalized EBITDA Deduct operating expenses and adjust documented owner-specific, exceptional and non-recurring items. Do not deduct income tax, capital expenditure or working-capital investment in calculating EBITDA.

3. Normalized EBITDA to free cash flow, where required Account separately for cash taxes, recurring and necessary capital expenditure, working-capital movements and other items required by the selected cash-flow definition.

4. Earnings or cash flow to enterprise value Apply a locally supported EBITDA multiple, capitalization method or discounted-cash-flow model to the corresponding financial measure.

5. Enterprise value to equity value Add transaction cash and subtract debt and debt-like obligations, subject to the agreed working-capital position.

6. Reconcile property without double counting If freehold property is added separately, first charge the operating business a market occupancy cost. If property-supported cash flow is already capitalized in the valuation, do not add the same property value again.

7. Estimate potential seller proceeds Deduct necessary refurbishment, working-capital deficiencies, transaction costs and applicable seller taxes.

Stress-test more than one variable at a time. A useful downside case might combine lower occupancy and realized pricing with higher payroll, rent and utilities. It should also consider new local courts, weaker member retention, loss of a major coach or customer, and delayed refurbishment.

The final reconciliation can be presented as:

Indicative operating-business enterprise value
+ Cash included in the transaction
- Debt and debt-like obligations
= Indicative operating-business equity value

+ Separately appraised property, only where:
  - property is included in the transaction;
  - operating earnings include a market occupancy cost; and
  - the property value has not already been captured
- Necessary refurbishment
+/- Working-capital adjustment
= Indicative total equity value

- Seller transaction costs and applicable taxes
= Indicative net seller proceeds

A credible answer to “how much is a padel club worth?” is therefore a documented range, not a price per court. Use the worksheet to establish an initial negotiating range. For financing, taxation, litigation or an actual sale, obtain a qualified local business valuation—and a separate real-estate appraisal when land or buildings are included.