Gareth Evans is a man with an eclectic padel portfolio and he’s now added a stylish apparel brand to his courts, canopies and clubs business.
Cheshire-based Evans is founder and CEO of Padel Ventures, a turnkey solution that handles all aspects of creating a padel venue, from designing, planning and court installation to supporting operators far beyond opening the doors to the public.
Evans is also CEO of FPL Ltd, which is working with several partners on launching the UK’s first floating padel club at Liverpool Waters in spring 2026 (as revealed by The Padel Paper). FPL Ltd is also looking at similar padel and wellness projects at other iconic water spaces around the country.
Vibora (check out @viboraclo on Instagram) is the latest branch of Evans’ empire. Launched with Dan Wilkins, owner of the Capo fashion brand and founder of Clubhouse in Blackburn, and financer Nick Sheratt, it was an idea which actually came out of the groundbreaking Liverpool Waters project.
“We were discussing the retail offering for Liverpool and started sketching out some of our own designs,” Evans tells The Padel Paper.
“Vibora works well as a lifestyle brand, not just padel. It’s an e-commerce play that will appeal to a broader scope, not just boxing ourselves into that padel corner.”
Evans was a professional rugby player for Leeds Tykes (during the club’s Premiership era) and SS Lazio in Italy, then spent almost 15 years in the health and fitness industry.
He pivoted into padel a couple of years ago, partly inspired by trend setters The Padel Club in Wilmslow and the sport’s then-nascent boom.
He started importing courts from Spain and travelled to China, Turkey, Portugal and Italy to research the global market.
What started off as court importing and installing has now expanded to a nationwide service offering design, planning and ongoing maintenance too.
One recent project, its biggest to date, is The Padel Shed in Huddersfield, with four Superpanoramic VX360 premium courts and five SX1 Panoramic courts, all with 1000 lux competition lights and competition turf.
Padel Ventures also recently helped launch Powerhouse Padel in Northern Ireland, Clubhouse in Blackburn and a three-court facility including platform and canopy in Hull.
Padel Ventures has three full-time staff (Evans himself, a commercial director and head of construction) and uses core manufacturers and sub-contractors for each project.
Evans said: “Padel Ventures has completed over 20 projects now, both private courts and public clubs, varying from single courts to our largest in Huddersfield which has nine indoor courts.
“We’re aiming to do 100 installs of courts in the coming year. That’s our target as a business, plus everything else around that, including planning, groundworks, canopies and maintenance, which is something a lot of clubs underestimate.
“We’ve become the go-to in the industry in the UK. We’re now regarded as experts in everything up to opening and beyond.”
Reflecting on his journey so far, he added: “It’s really nice to be on this journey personally and on a business level.
“It’s such a wonderful sport. It’s great for building communities because it’s so social. You go on an app and play with people you’ve never met before. That’s something not a lot of other sports offer.”
