Eden PR has been appointed by one of the UK’s freshest padel brands to support in launching its offering across the Midlands, with the first flagship site set to open later this year.

PadelPlex has been founded by a duo of Notts hospitality experts and a cricket legend who have teamed up to bring a five-star padel leisure complex to Nottingham, following swiftly by several more ‘plex’ offerings (smaller venues) across the region.

Construction is now underway to create the premium, high-quality new venue adjacent to the Showcase Cinema, on the land at Dusk Till Dawn’s car park on Redfield Way. The centre will be the first in the UK for PadelPlex, a brand new padel community launched by Nottingham hotelier Richard Johal and founder of 200 Degrees Rob Darby, alongside ambassador for the brand former England and Notts cricketer James Taylor.

Bringing decades of hospitality and sporting experience to the venture, the team behind the leisure complex has been inspired by the space in the market for a top quality padel offering with customer service at its heart.

Richard Johal, who has managed a number of hotels including the St James Hotel in Nottingham and worked in hospitality for all of his career with particular expertise in business growth and brand development, said: “We are so excited to be bringing our plans to life for the very first Padelplex centre in the UK – which of course had to be in Nottingham as all of our founders are from here and we’re so proud of our city’s sporting energy and accolades.

“Padel is rapidly rising in popularity and against this backdrop we saw an opportunity to develop a high-quality, premium offering with an eye on the ‘added extras’ of a top quality venue, but at the same price point to play. The small things like a consistently friendly welcome, clean and bright and well maintained facilities will be consistently excellent at Padelplex, combined with the essentials such as plentiful free parking and easy access to great restaurants and other activities in the area such as the cinema and bowling. As keen padel players ourselves, we know exactly what our customers – be it students or grandparents and everyone in between – will expect when they visit us for a game.

“Working with a well established, well connected and results driven PR agency was key to our comms plan from the start. There are so many new padel offerings at the moment that we knew we needed to hit the headlines regularly, across social media and online news, to build excitement and momentum for our brand. Eden’s credentials surpassed all our requirements and we’re excited to work in partnership with the team as we launch PadelPlex.”

The development at the Showcase site will comprise five covered outdoor padel courts alongside a hospitality pavilion featuring a reception area, snack bar, indoor seating, changing facilities and is expected to cost more than £1m. It should create up to eight jobs initially.

Richard and his team have already submitted plans for their next site, for a Plex Local in Rutland, comprising of three covered courts, with several more sites pinpointed for expansion in the coming months.

Director & Head of New Business at Eden PR Emily Winsor-Russell said: “The whole team at Eden is bubbling with excitement to have won a client in what has to be one of the most fast-paced sporting sectors ever! The way padel has exploded in popularity in the last few years shows there is a real appetite for a sport that really is accessible, easy to pick up and most of all, fun. We’ve certainly enjoyed practicing what we preach and trying the game for ourselves. We know the PadelPlex sites are going to book up really quickly given the attention to detail Richard and his team are putting in to every tiny decision as they build the brand.”