Morten Bugge interview: Rocket Padel owner on UK expansion and new indoor club in Spain

Since opening the UK’s largest padel club, a 14-court facility in Bristol, last year, Rocket Padel has begun a major expansion in the country centred on London, with new sites in Ilford and Battersea and others to follow across the capital. The company now has over 25,000 registered players – among them David Beckham and his son Romeo. Spearheading the growth is Danish investor Morten Bugge, who acquired the firm just over two years ago. He tells Padel Business Magazine about its future plans in the UK and elsewhere and shares his views on padel’s potential.

After witnessing first-hand the development of padel across Scandinavia, including in his native Denmark, Morten Bugge – who now spends much of his time in London – has become one of the most influential figures behind the growth of the sport in the UK.

The experienced business executive, who specialises in emerging market investments, acquired Rocket Padel in November 2022 and holds a 75% stake in the company, with the remaining 25% owned by co-founding partners based in the UK and Denmark.

A Scandinavian-born brand first established in 2019, Rocket Padel specialises in premium indoor padel facilities at AAA locations in selected cities and Bugge says the ownership group is “comprised of very experienced people from the padel industry, allowing Rocket Padel to leverage that experience in developing and operating padel centres.”

With ambitious growth plans for the coming years, Bugge reveals the company is currently exploring the possibility of bringing in additional investors “to expedite our expansion and enhance the business with added expertise.”

Currently the firm has 28 courts across three sites in Denmark and 30 courts across three sites in the UK. Since taking over the company Bugge has shifted attention to the UK as it seeks to capitalise on the growing interest in the sport there following the expansion and maturing of the market in his home country.

“The big growth area for Rocket Padel is the UK and London specifically,” he explains. “The very high occupancy you see in the UK is driven by the lack of courts. Denmark, and Sweden especially, are at very different stages of their development.”

UK’s largest padel club: 14-court indoor facility in Bristol

In April 2023, Bugge oversaw the unveiling of the UK’s largest padel club as Rocket Padel opened a 14-court indoor facility in Bristol, southwest England. The site features 12 panoramic courts and two single courts and has hosted numerous events, such as Box League matches and Padel & Pints sessions, which he says “have been in very high demand.”

Rocket Padel Bristol also acts as a Coach Development Centre under the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) – the UK’s national governing body for padel – and offers LTA qualifications, as well as a broad range of courses and workshops.

Bugge says the Bristol facility “has proven to be a very strong showcase for the pipeline we are now building in London.”

In April 2024 Rocket Padel opened a 12-court site in the town of Ilford in East London – the capital’s largest indoor padel centre, followed in September by a four-court indoor club at the iconic Battersea Power Station by the River Thames.

Each UK facility features spectator areas, a bar, bistro and shop, as well as changing rooms and a warm-up zone.

Ilford site open from 7am till 1am to meet increased demand

After initially operating standard opening hours from 7am to 11pm, the Ilford club is now open from 7am till 1am, seven days a week, and Bugge says that along with the growing demand for padel courts in London, the popularity of the Ilford site highlights the natural appeal of the sport and its social element.

“When we opened, because of the lack of courts in London, people were travelling from across the city to Ilford to use the facility,” he says. “But, very quickly, the local community also picked up on padel and its social aspects, and our club has almost become a kind of community centre for the area. We still have padel tourists coming from all over London, but there's a very solid base of players domestically now.”

Rocket Padel’s site in Battersea has also proved a hit, and its central location, again in an area previously lacking padel courts, has helped attract celebrities, with former English footballer David Beckham and his son Romeo among those seen playing there recently.

Rocket Padel now has more than 25,000 registered players in the UK, and Bugge says it has “high occupancy rates across all our venues”. This is further supplemented by extra events and initiatives, such as ‘Serving Hope’, a social charity tournament taking place on December 20th at Rocket Padel Ilford to support homelessness within the community.

Membership and pay-and-play options are on offer across Rocket Padel’s clubs, as well as different price points, which vary according to the size, type and location of the facility, as well as availability of courts. For a full court for one hour Battersea starts at £60 (£15 per person), while Bristol starts at £28 and Ilford £52, with discounts available for members.

New nine-court indoor club in South London to open in 2025

Rocket Padel’s expansion across the capital is set to continue next year. In October the company received planning permission for a new nine-court indoor club by East Croydon station in South London due to open in the second half of 2025, which Bugge says follows “years of effort, planning and preparation.”

It has also secured another contract in East London for a five-court fully indoor site due to open in summer 2025, with details to be announced at the beginning of the year.

Bugge reveals it is also set to open another facility of at least five courts in West London, with details to be announced in the coming months, and says in total it expects to add between 20 and 25 courts in the UK in 2025, bringing the total in the country to between 60 and 70 courts.

He adds that while Rocket Padel may consider expanding into other major UK cities such as Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds at some point in the future, the focus is firmly on London for now.

“I wouldn't be surprised if we have 15 centres in London within the next two or three years,” he predicts. “When you consider the city has a population of about 9 million people, and you look at the number of courts, a lot more can be built. There is still a lot of room for growth. There is a large padel community, and also a large expat community, and we are extremely well-anchored here now.”

However, he acknowledges that finding space in London can be a challenge. “Compared with Denmark, for example, it's a bit trickier to build in the UK and London, specifically, especially if you want to be in Zone 1. It's difficult to find 10,000 square metres in the centre of London. So you need to be a bit more creative on how you can do this.”

After converting an old warehouse in Bristol, Rocket Padel has taken a similar approach in London. The Ilford club, for instance, added newly built facilities to a warehouse structure, while the site to be used in Croydon has been vacant since 2015 and was previously occupied by the Royal Mail delivery office, which was demolished in 2022. The Battersea club, meanwhile, is housed within an 11-metre-high bespoke glass building overlooking the Thames.

Taking a measured approach to UK expansion

Given the number of players using Rocket Padel’s clubs, Bugge is understandably bullish about both its expansion plans as well as the growth of the sport across the UK in the coming years but says it is taking a measured approach.

“We are particularly positive about the UK market and have a very strong pipeline here for the coming years. However, we need to do it in a controlled manner, so we want to open a high-quality centre every time we expand, and find the right people — the right coaches, club managers, and so on.”

He also believes that with its focus on indoor facilities, Rocket Padel is poised to capitalise on the expansion of the market as it evolves.

“The UK looks a lot like Denmark five, six, seven years ago, when there was primarily outdoor padel and a few indoor facilities. It then slowly converted to indoor and then fully indoor, so the UK is still very much in the first phase of its evolution, but we anticipate it will develop in a similar way.”

Targeting tourists and locals in Costa del Sol

While the UK is the key focus for Rocket Padel for now, Bugge has also spotted a new opportunity in Spain, with plans underway to open a 13-court site in Mijas in Costa del Sol. The facility will feature eight indoor courts and five outdoor courts, and will particularly target people – whether tourists or locals – who want to play at any time, including in the middle of the day away from the heat.

“You might think we are completely crazy opening a padel site in Spain, but this will be an unusual venue as it will have a fully indoor, cooling air-conditioned facility – something Spain hasn’t seen before to this extent.

“I have spent a lot of time in Spain, and in the summer months from 11am to 4pm very few people play padel due to the heat. Also this October, for example, it rained throughout the month so you could not play padel outdoors very much.”

While the overwhelming majority of padel sites in Spain are outdoors, Bugge notes that “there are a few indoor centres which are very low quality, so this will be something novel and interesting.”

Construction of the site is due to start in the first quarter of 2025 and it could be open by the end of the year. As well as the padel courts it will also have additional facilities including bars, restaurants, swimming pool areas, and a pro shop.

Plans for steady expansion in Denmark 

Bugge says Rocket Padel also plans to continue a steady expansion in Denmark, with construction expected to start in 2025 on the addition of another ten courts at a new greenfield site. It will also potentially take over the operation of some existing padel venues in the country.

He observes that while in Sweden clubs continue to close following an overexpansion driven by demand during the Covid-19 pandemic and low interest rates at the time, Denmark, by contrast, has experienced “more controlled growth, and learned a lot from the lessons in Sweden.”

He adds that “the padel market in Denmark is now going through the third phase of its evolution, where it's starting to consolidate.”

Bugge explains that for him the first phase of a padel market’s development is about the discovery of any location to build new courts, primarily outdoors, with the second phase an improved focus on player experience, and transforming existing warehouse rebuilds into indoor padel facilities.

He says the third phase is defined by “new state-of-the-art premium locations with attention to every detail, from playing experience through to hospitality, ambience, and the highest standards in indoor climate and food and beverage, all aligning with the market´s shift toward exclusively indoor facilities.”

He notes that in Denmark now there is “interaction between the different clubs to help each other out and think smartly about when to open the next centres. As the market consolidates and you don't have 100% occupancy any more the financing and budgeting of a new centre in Denmark doesn't look as appealing, so you really need to do it smart.”

Signs of sustainable growth for padel in the UK 

As he reflects on the development of padel in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries over the past few years, Bugge believes padel in the UK is set for sustainable growth, with all the signs indicating the sport is here to stay.

“Padel has the potential to be the biggest sport for the broader public in the UK. Yes, it's a tennis nation and it's quite conservative around that, but the number of new members and players coming to our clubs every month is astonishing. So there is a high level of interest.”

He adds: “Also the barrier to entry as a new player is very low, which makes it extremely suitable for a wide range of people, more so than tennis or squash, which are more technical or tricky to get started with. We get a lot of first-time players that come to our clubs. We teach them the few initial steps and within 20 minutes they've already advanced and start to enjoy it. And that's very rare in sports.” 

Not yet a PBM subscriber? Sign up here for exclusive weekly insights into the padel industry, delivered directly to your inbox