Yes the padel is doing well. But the energy crisis is everywhere. And the final score is expensive, to the point of posing cash flow problems for clubs of padel which belong to the commercial sector.

The government has announced public aid. But according to the Union Sport et Cycle, the leading professional organization of companies in the commercial sports leisure sector, “government aid does not reach its target by excluding the commercial leisure sector".

Who are we talking about ?

We are talking about the commercial leisure sector, which means that it concerns companies which offer paid services against the payment of monetary remuneration and which generate a profit (source: Wikipedia). It is opposed to the non-market sector which concerns public administrations and associations (non-profit).

Numbers:

Commercial sporting leisure in France is:

  • 7 establishments
  • more than 40 employees

The structures concerned by commercial sporting leisure are mainly:

  • gyms
  • climbing halls
  • 5-a-side football structures
  • clubs padel
  • swimming pools and ice rinks in public service delegation

The non-eligible market sector

The market sector (private structures) has already suffered after two years of Covid-19. For Union Sport et Cycle, with the energy crisis, the government did not realize the seriousness of the situation for these sports structures directly confronted with rising energy costs.

Indeed, they "find themselves excluded from assistance schemes”.

Energy-intensive sports clubs

These companies consume “large volumes” in energy. However, to claim government aid, it is necessary, among other things, to have electricity meters whose power is less than 36kVA.

And that's where it gets stuck, since precisely "sur recommendation of energy suppliers, almost all of the electricity meters in sports halls have powers greater than 36kVA”explains the organization to us.

And this while these sports clubs are most often VSEs with less than 10 employees and achieving less than 2 million euros in turnover.

A reduced profit in 2021

In addition, the government is based on an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of 2021 while clubs of padel were partially (sometimes totally) closed for the first six months of this year and/or suffered restrictions due to the economic and health environment that reigned there (mask, health pass, etc.)

What solutions?

Consequence of the energy crisis: the sometimes tenfold increase in the energy bill. These costs can put businesses at risk.

Union Sport & Cycle brings ideas to the government which they believe should: 

  • Weight the power criterion of the electric meter with the commercial surface of the company;
  • Replace the rule of variation in EBITDA and decrease in EBITDA compared to 2021 by a fixed criterion of negativity for EBITDA and EBITDA 2022, with at least 70-80% of the eligible additional cost covered ( as for aid known as "fixed costs").

To find out more: HERE

Source: Union Sport & Cycle

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.

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