THE RAFA NADAL ACADEMY ACCELERATES ITS INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION WITH THE ENTRY OF GPF

Rafa Nadal takes a decisive step in his commitment to promoting values in sports and education among youth and adults worldwide, accelerating its international expansion plans by welcoming GPF as a shareholder, who shares the values promoted at the Rafa Nadal Academy and has a strong cultural and generational identity with Rafa Nadal.

 

The Rafa Nadal Academy, Rafa Nadal’s main life project, was launched in 2016 in Mallorca (Spain) and has since experienced exponential growth in both facilities and visitors, employing over 500 staff and welcoming over 100,000 annual visitors across its 80,000 square meters of educational and sports facilities.

 

Thanks to this growth, the Rafa Nadal Academy has become one of the world's leading education and sports centers, focused on training its students and athletes in the same values that have guided Rafa Nadal to personal and professional success.

Located in Mallorca, birthplace of Rafa Nadal, the Academy has recently completed the last phase of expansion of its facilities and currently features a student residence hosting around 4,000 youths annually, a 95-room and 10-apartments residence for over 10,000 adults who opt for participating in tennis training programs and an international school (Rafa Nadal International School) serving over 450 students from 45 nationalities, aged 3 to 18. The sports facilities include 45 tennis courts (indoor and outdoor), 16 padel courts, a football field, 3 swimming pools, a fitness center, spa and a sports clinic managed by QuirónSalud to guarantee a good medical coverage of the thousands of tennis players who pass through its facilities. In addition, the Academy hosts the Rafa Nadal Museum, which includes a leisure area with numerous interactive activities, an exhibition with some of the most relevant trophies from Rafa Nadal's tennis career as well as numerous iconic objects donated by great international legends from other sports.

 

The partnership with GPF strengthens the Academy's international department, with the appointment of Carlos Costa as Director of International Development, supported by key figures in the development and consolidation of the Academy such as Toni Nadal and Maribel Nadal (Deputy General Manager).

 

"For many years we have worked to consolidate the Academy in Mallorca and to start being present in different parts of the world. I am personally very satisfied with all that we have achieved so far and excited to start this stage of international expansion hand in hand with GPF, who shares our values, vision and enthusiasm. I am convinced that this partnership will be a success that will help us accelerate the group’s growth," said Rafa Nadal himself.

 

"GPF is firmly committed to investing in education and sports as fundamental pillars of society, and no project brings them together better than the Rafa Nadal Academy. We are very excited to partner with Rafa to work together with him and his team to accelerate the international expansion of the group," said Martín Rodríguez-Fraile, founding partner of GPF.

 

GPF (www.gpf-partners.com) is a private equity investment firm founded in 2015 by Martín Rodríguez-Fraile, Ignacio Olascoaga, Lorenzo Martínez de Albornoz and Guillermo Castellanos. GPF currently has over €1.2 billion of capital under management between the GPF Capital I, GPF Capital II, GPF Capital III, GPF Capital IV and Inbest GPF Real Estate funds. All funds are funded exclusively by private investors from Spain, USA, Europe and 13 Latin American countries, offering unparalleled reach across the Americas for long-term investment development.

 

GPF has been advised by EY, Roland Berger and Uría Menéndez. Rafa Nadal has been advised by Broseta Abogados.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE RAFA NADAL ACADEMY AND ITS INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

 

Rafa Nadal Academy

The Academy offers programs for both youths and adults, including the possibility of staying in the residence or in the hotel, respectively. Children choose programs of different length (from annual to weekly), and last year nearly 4,000 children were welcomed at the Academy's facilities. All programs are held at its facilities, with 45 tennis courts (hard and clay courts) and 16 padel courts.

The Academy also has the Rafa Nadal Club, a first-class gym and sports center with a wide range of courses in fitness, yoga, swimming, etc. for its more than 2,000 members. The Academy has also 4 restaurants based on Rafa Nadal’s tennis career with decoration inspired by the cities of these Grand Slams, so that all visitors feel as if they were inside one of the most emblematic tennis events in the world.

 

Rafa Nadal International School

The school provides a high-quality Anglo-American education, based on Rafa Nadal's values and principles, to its more than 450 primary and secondary school students from 45 different nationalities. It stands out for facilitating access to USA universities through sports scholarships and, currently, more than 60% of the students obtain some type of sports scholarship to continue their studies at top universities around the world.

2018: Beginning of the “Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre”

The "Rafa Nadal Tennis Centres" are complementary tennis centres to the Rafa Nadal Academy which are located in resorts and prime international destinations. There are currently three Rafa Nadal Tennis Centres located in Mexico, Greece and Hong Kong. In the coming months new openings are planned worldwide that will continue to expand the international offer.

 

2020: Establishment of the second Rafa Nadal Academy

Located in Kuwait, this academy aims to support the Kuwait Tennis Federation in promoting the sport in the country. The facilities has 8 indoor courts, 8 outdoor courts, a 1,500-seat outdoor stadium and a multi-purpose indoor pavilion with capacity for 5,000 spectators. The Rafa Nadal Academy Kuwait also has an extension of the Rafa Nadal Museum where some of the trophies won by Rafa during his career are on display.

2020: Opening of the first Rafa Nadal Club

The first Rafa Nadal Club introduced a new concept of sport, fitness, entertainment, and wellness available to Mallorca residents who can benefit from a unique fitness, crossfit and wellness complex run by a prestigious team and with training and competition schools for tennis, padel and swimming. Thanks to the sophisticated sports and gastronomic facilities and its technical team, the Rafa Nadal Club is already one of the reference sports centers at a national level.

 

2023: Partnership with GPF to accelerate international growth

GPF's entry in the shareholding of the Rafa Nadal Academy includes an ambitious plan to accelerate its international expansion, not only with the opening of new tennis centers in touristic destinations and cities of international reference, but also with the opening of new Rafa Nadal Academies, being the USA the first strategic location. The goal is to continue expanding Rafa Nadal's DNA and values worldwide.