Playtomic founders Pablo Carro (L), Pedro Claveria (R) and co-chief executive Felix Ruiz (centre)
MADRID, December 17, 2021 — Playtomic, the leading tennis and padel social and booking app, has raised €56 million in a series C investment round led by GP Bullhound – with participation from Claret Capital Partners, Playtomic co-founder and investor Félix Ruiz, and Sweden’s Optimizer Invest.
The Madrid-based company – which has a current staff of 150 – plans to use part of the proceeds to grow its technology and product development team from 50 employees currently to as many as 150 over the coming months. Playtomic is building out its software-as-a-service solutions for sports clubs and it is developing a premium subscription service aimed at power users of its app. It is also adding social features to a community of more than one million active monthly users.
“While clubs are starting to embrace digitalization, the user experience for racket players in much of the world remains subpar. Playtomic’s mobile application for players and software for club owners helps make match-making and the booking experience frictionless, and with the additional funding from GP Bullhound and our other partners, Playtomic is in a strong position to further expand our services into new markets globally.”
Pedro Clavería, founder and co-CEO of Playtomic
“We are delighted to support Pedro, Felix and the rest of the Playtomic team as it expands its features, services and footprint into new markets across the globe. We believe Playtomic is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the market for one of the fastest growing sports in Europe.”
Johan Kampe, Managing Partner at Claret Capital Partners
Playtomic will also continue to invest in expanding the company’s footprint in Europe and beyond. Over the past two years, Playtomic has purchased several smaller rivals in the US, Sweden, UK, Belgium, Italy and Portugal. The platform currently operates in 34 countries.
“After consolidating its position as the leading bookings platform worldwide, Playtomic has become a truly social app where racket sports lovers can interact and challenge each other. We are excited to see how the new capital is used to provide fans and clubs with state-of-the-art software, and to expand this great product into new geographies.”
Per Roman, Managing Partner of GP Bullhound
Félix Ruiz, co-CEO and one of the earliest investors in Playtomic, also provided additional funding in the series C round.
“Playtomic is one of the fastest-growing companies I’ve invested in, and we are still in the early stages of the game. The sports industry is only now starting to embrace digitalization. This capital injection gives us the firepower to grow further in Europe and the U.S., supporting clubs with new and innovative initiatives to help grow their business.”
Félix Ruiz, co-CEO and one of the earliest investors in Playtomic
Playtomic, founded in 2017 by Clavería, Ruiz and Pablo Carro, began as a booking app for padel courts, and later expanded into other racket sports as well as team sports. As of November 2021, monthly bookings of courts on the Playtomic app and on its recently acquired platforms surpassed 1 million, roughly triple the number of bookings it registered a year earlier.
About Playtomic
Playtomic is Europe’s largest tennis and padel booking app, connecting clubs with more than one million active players in 34 countries. Through the app, players can search and book space for padel, tennis, and other sports at more than 4,000 clubs that use the company’s software solutions. For more information, please visit www.playtomic.io.
About Claret Capital Partners
Claret Capital Partners provides growth capital to innovative growth stage businesses. Since 2013 Claret has backed over 140 European SMEs from a wide range of geographies across Europe. The Claret team has been active in the technology financing markets for over 20 years and provides debt solutions to help entrepreneurs and private equity investors grow their companies while minimising dilution. For more information, please visit claret-capital.com.
About GP Bullhound
GP Bullhound is a leading technology advisory and investment firm, providing transaction advice and capital to the world’s best entrepreneurs and founders. Founded in 1999 in London and Menlo Park, the firm today has 10 offices spanning Europe, the US and Asia. For more information, please visit www.gpbullhound.com.