LAZARUS CONSULTING ADVISES RACKETPAL ON ITS SALE TO A EUROPEAN TECH ENTREPRENEUR
Lazarus Consulting is pleased to announce that its client, RacketPal, a leading UK sportstech business, has been acquired by David Kasper, a European tech entrepreneur.
Founded in 2019, London-headquartered RacketPal is the largest racket sports community in the UK; it helps players to be more physically active by encouraging them to be part of active communities, find local partners and games, book coaching lessons and join nearby clubs and venues. The business has previously raised millions of pounds, and the tech behind the RacketPal platform is of the highest calibre and is fully scalable - a new sport can be added very quickly with only a few clicks.
RacketPal has achieved significant user growth (126% year-on-year), with over 150,000 registered users; 6,000 club communities have been created to date. The business recently launched a B2B offering which helps venues, clubs and leisure centres increase sport participation and bookings.
In Q2 2024, RacketPal hired Lazarus Consulting to launch a strategic review to ensure that the business continues to develop and grow, both here in the UK and internationally and that review has concluded with the sale to David Kasper, who is a European tech entrepreneur and the cofounder of several tech businesses including Purple Holding and Walletory. Following completion of the sale, Robert Rizea (CEO and Co-founder of RacketPal) and Bodgan Demeny (CTO and Co-founder of RacketPal) will both exit the business.
Robert Rizea, CEO and Co-founder of RacketPal, said "Our mission was to be the largest and most engaged sports community in the world; we focused first on racket sports as there are 7 million racket sports players in the UK and 800 million players worldwide, but our platform can easily be adapted to cover any sport. RacketPal has achieved incredible growth and it is now ready to be taken to the next level – we are leaving RacketPal in safe hands, with David Kasper taking the reins with exciting plans for its future success".
Robert Rizea continues: “We at RacketPal are immensely grateful to Lazarus Consulting for their exceptional service and expertise in finding the perfect buyer for our company. Their dedication and strategic approach ensured that we conducted a thorough process which resulted in us securing a buyer who aligns with our vision. Lazarus Consulting’s professionalism and commitment to our success have been truly outstanding. We could not have asked for a better partner in this crucial phase of RacketPal’s business journey.”
With a team led by Steve Lazarus, Lazarus Consulting acted as the exclusive financial advisor to RacketPal.
Lazarus Consulting CEO, Steve Lazarus commented:
“RacketPal is a testament to innovative thinking and the power of community in the sportstech space. It's been a privilege to advise on this deal and witness RacketPal's journey first hand. We're confident that under new leadership, the company will continue to break new ground and inspire athletes everywhere.”
ABOUT RACKETPAL
Launched in 2019 and available on the web, iOS and Android, RacketPal is a racket sports community where users can find local racket sports players, courts, clubs and instructors in seconds. RacketPal currently covers Tennis, Badminton, Table Tennis, Squash, Padel Tennis, Pickleball, Racquetball and Platform Tennis. Prior to launching RacketPal, Robert Rizea, RacketPal’s Co-founder and CEO, was a No 1 ranked tennis player in Romania for 6 years. Please see www.racketpal.co.uk for more information.