The Frasers Group brand has transformed a 35,000-square-foot retail unit in Exeter into a venue with nine padel courts and two pickleball courts, as it advances plans to reach ten clubs and 150 courts across the UK.
The expansion of padel in the UK is generating new approaches to facility development, including the conversion of surplus retail and warehouse spaces into sports venues.
This is the approach being pursued by Slazenger Padel, which has opened its fourth UK club after transforming a 35,000-square-foot unit at Haven Banks Retail Park in Exeter into a facility featuring nine padel courts and two pickleball courts.
The venue opened on August 31 and forms part of the company’s expansion plans, which target ten clubs and 150 courts across the UK.
From retail to sports participation
According to SGI Europe, one of the distinctive elements of Slazenger Padel’s model is its access to the property portfolio of Frasers Group, the owner of the brand.
Rather than relying exclusively on standalone sports developments, the group is using large retail and warehouse spaces available within its existing property portfolio to develop its clubs.
This approach allows the company to take advantage of locations that already offer parking, accessibility and established visitor traffic, transforming existing real estate assets into sports facilities.
The Exeter club follows Slazenger Padel’s existing venues in Leeds, Swindon and Blackburn.
Beyond the sale of sporting goods
Frasers Group’s strategy reflects a broader trend within the sports industry: the move from a business model focused primarily on selling sporting equipment towards models that allow companies to participate directly in the sports experience.
For Frasers Group, Slazenger Padel forms part of a wider strategy to expand into participation sports and fitness, alongside concepts such as Everlast Gyms+.
The group is not alone in exploring this approach. SGI Europe also highlights Decathlon, which has converted temporary padel installations at some of its UK stores into permanent facilities and has invested in owned courts in other markets.
The trend points towards an evolving role for sporting brands within the padel ecosystem: not only selling products used to play the sport, but also operating the venues where the activity takes place.
A venue combining sport, services and retail
The new Exeter club includes a range of services around the sporting activity. In addition to the padel and pickleball courts, the venue offers coaching programmes, a members’ bar and café, a specialist pro shop and equipment rental.
The concept therefore combines sports participation with additional services designed to create a broader experience for users.
The project also forms part of Slazenger’s repositioning as a contemporary sports brand. In July, Frasers Group appointed Alexei Hamblin as creative director as part of the brand’s wider revitalisation strategy.
Padel growth creates new opportunities across the sector
Slazenger Padel’s expansion comes against a backdrop of continued growth in padel infrastructure worldwide. SGI Europe, citing the Playtomic Global Padel Report, reports that the number of padel clubs worldwide increased by 22% during 2024.
Beyond the growth in the number of facilities, the expansion of operators from retail and other areas of the sports industry highlights how padel’s development is creating new business opportunities around facility management and the player experience.
Slazenger Padel’s model therefore represents an approach based on the reuse of existing spaces and the integration of retail, participation sports and services, a particularly relevant trend in markets where land availability and property costs are key factors in the development of new clubs.
Source: SGI Europe, “Slazenger Padel converts an Exeter retail unit into its fourth UK club”, SGI Europe Editorial Team, September 7, 2026.
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