Shorts: Padel, Michael Johnson, Sky Sports
The Padel Club has raised £1.5m in investment via the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II), following the launch of the £660m fund this year.
Founded in 2020, Kris Ball launched The Padel Club after recognising its rising popularity while working abroad. It now builds several padel facilities across the UK.
In total, The Padel Club has now raised £3.8m in its latest funding round, with £1.5m from NPIF II – Praetura Equity Finance, which is managed by Praetura as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II. Existing investor, Endeavour Ventures, has provided additional EIS investment as part of the latest funding round.
Charlotte Kopciowski, Head of Finance at The Padel Club, said, “NPIF II is designed to increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance and we feel that we fit very well into this as an ambitious young company looking to grow and bring Padel to more communities.
“We are very excited to be partnering with Praetura and the expertise that they can add to our already strong board and management team.”
Harder Than You Think and Persephonica have announced a brand-new podcast; Rising Phoenix: What Does It Take? ahead of this year’s Paralympics.
Hosted by the US Paralympian Matt ‘the Armless Archer’ Stutzman, who holds a world record for the longest accurate shot taken in archery, and four-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson, Rising Phoenix aims to draw audiences to the Paralympics with in-depth stories from star Paralympians.
Guests across the eight-part series include US para track star Hunter Woodhall; British sprinter and cyclist Kadeena Cox; Norwegian rowing champion Birgit Skarstein; Argentinian wheelchair tennis star Gustavo Fernández and French Blind Footballer Gaël Rivière.
Michael Johnson, commented, “I love storytelling. As an elite athlete I am always looking for great stories from sport that demonstrate high performance and the pursuit of excellence. We’ve spoken to some extraordinary Paralympic athletes for this podcast and I am excited to have worked with the team behind Rising Phoenix to share their stories with the world this summer.”
Johnson is represented by London-based agency Think Beyond.
England cricket supporters group The Barmy Army have announced collaboration with digital ticket provider Tixserve.
As part of the deal, Tixserve will aim to ‘reform the ticketing experience’ for Barmy Army’s travel and hospitality packages.
Opening the partnership this summer, Tixserve will release digital packages for all England cricket matches and events including fan events, meet and greets and the popular Barmy Bingo event.
In the winter, the collaboration will extend to overseas tour packages, including digital entitlements and engaging match tickets.
Adam Canning, Commercial Director of the Barmy Army said, “We are always looking for ways to improve our members’ experience, and streamlining our ticketing processes at home and abroad is a key part of this.”
UK-based creative production company After Party Studios has secured a second season of its hit Sky Sports YouTube series, SCENES.
The inaugural season of SCENES, which debuted last season, obtained an excess of 54 million organic views across the 2023/24 season and featured Chunkz, Danny Dyer, Micah Richards and Jack Grealish.
Hosts, Specs Gonzalez and Morf are back to start the new series at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea will host Manchester City on Super Sunday, August 18th.
After Party Studios’ Managing Director, Joshua Barnett said, “We can’t wait to kick off the new Premier League season with even more up-for-it guests from the worlds of music, digital, film and football, all whilst showcasing Sky Sports’ unbeatable access week on week.”
Premier League football club Wolves has partnered with global forex and CFD broker ZERO Markets.
The deal commits ZERO Market to produce exclusive content and interactive events designed to engage and inspire fans.
The partnership was brokered through leading sports marketing agency SportQuake.
Paddy Zhang, CEO of ZERO Markets said, “This partnership is a statement of our confidence in Wolves’ future and our belief in the power of bold, visionary thinking.
“Together, we are set to redefine success, not just in football or trading, but in the broader landscape of sports and finance.”
Brentford FC has announced a new partnership with MatchWornShirt ahead of the 2024/25 season.
The deal will provide Brentford fans with the opportunity to auction for Bees players worn and signed shirts with proceeds going directly to the Heart of West London initiative.
The five-year partnership will also see MatchWornShirt host regular online auctions exclusively on the website at app, always going live at kick-off.
The first public sale will occur on 18th August when Brentford take on Crystal Palace at the Gtech Community Stadium for their opening game of the new Premier League season.
Fran Jones, Brentford FC Commercial Director said,“MatchWornShirt are the best in the business at giving fans the chance to own a piece of their club’s history, and now we’re giving the Bees family the opportunity to do the same.”
James Flude, Head of Business Development at MatchWornShirt, added,“Our UK office is a stone’s throw from the Gtech Community Stadium, so this partnership is an extremely exciting one for us.”
Forest Green Rovers has agreed a deal with sustainable performance wear brand Reflo.
Reflo will be the clubs new travel wear supplier, firstly introduced during Rovers’ pre-season matches in Germany and then will be directly involved as the kit manufacturer for all first team travel.
Dale Vince, Chairman of Forest Green Roverssaid, “Our pursuit of sustainability continues, we’re not resting on any eco laurels at FGR – but rather we’re constantly looking for ways to improve.”
Rory MacFadyen, Co-Founder of Reflo echoed, “Brand values don’t often align as perfectly as Reflo and Forest Green Rovers. As a British company committed to becoming the most sustainable sportswear brand in the world, we have naturally admired the work of Forest Green Rovers for many years.”
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