R3 Sport in Rowland buy-out
Padel entrepreneur Jonathan Rowland has revealed that R3 Sport, the padel business he founded 18 months ago, is in the process of being acquired by VVV Sports, a company of which he is executive chairman.
The deal, expected to be completed by the end of this month, values R3 Sport at £3 million and in VVV Sports creates what is described as the only listed ‘pure play’ sports investment vehicle focused on the global growth of padel, pickleball and other emerging and niche sports including beach tennis. VVV Sports, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, is listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange.
Days after announcing the R3 buy-out, Rowland further revealed that VVV Sports has invested in Wild Pickleball Agency (WPA), established last year by José ‘Queco’ Catalán, former development director of the International Padel Federation (FIP). Together WPA and VVV Sports aim to build pickleball in Europe and the Middle East via a three-tier competition system designed to develop talented players from grassroots to professional level, with professional and semi-professional circuits, a professional pickleball team league and a tech platform to support.
R3 Sport
R3 landed on the British padel scene in March 2024 with financial backing running into double digit millions and plans to be a sport agent, club operator, top level tournament organiser and padel equipment/apparel distributor.
Founder Rowland was joined by elite GB player Nikhil Mohindra as a director. Former LTA competition manager Sam Kemp was subsequently recruited to run operations, tournaments and events, later becoming managing director of R3 Sport. It’s planned he will become a director of VVV Sports alongside Rowland (chair) and non-exec directors Richard Morecroft and Mahesh Pulandaran, with one more director to be announced.
R3 manages a roster of elite British padel players, including GB No 1 Christian Medina Murphy, GB No 4 Sam Jones and GB No 2 Catherine Rose, currently ranked 97th in the world and, with GB No 1 Aimee Gibson, one of only two British players to crack the world top 100.
Earlier this year the company launched the R3 Bullpadel Cup, a series of six elite level padel tournaments attracting overseas players competing for the largest prize pot yet offered in British padel. The first tournament – a FIP Silver – was held at Rocket Padel, Bristol, in April and featured a strong showing from elite British players. The tour also headed overseas, with the FIP Bronze R3 Bullpadel Cup in Luxembourg.
Plans
Moving forward, VVV Sports – which changed its name from VVV Resources Ltd in August, intends to continue the work of R3, focussing on:
- Event ownership and management (R3 Bullpadel Cup, Premier Padel events and International Padel Federation/European/Middle East events)
- Athlete and talent management
- Team ownership and strategic stakes in fast-growth sports franchises
- Brand acquisition including R3 Sport’s partnership with MRH Sport and Bullpadel.
- Venues, academies and global flagship projects (including Abu Dhabi Centre of Excellence)
- Media rights ownership and content creation (including TV programme Padel Planet)
- Retail and distribution through partnerships (including Bullpadel in the UK & Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and other territories).
Rowland said the buy-out would create a ‘larger and financially stronger entity’ to support their plans for growth, adding: “Emerging sports like padel and pickleball are experiencing explosive growth worldwide – driven by surging participation, media attention and commercial interest. However, a clear gap remains in fully professionalising and commercialising these fast-rising sports, particularly across Europe and the Middle East and key global hubs.
“The acquisition will position VVV as a next-gen sports entertainment company aiming to build the most exciting sports entertainment and athlete brand in the world. The directors will seek to blend professional sports events, influencer culture and word-class sports facilities to take advantage of the commercial opportunities across talent, events, media and merchandise,” concluded Rowland. 🎾
