Game, set, MATCHi – Verdane and Sprints Capital invest in racket sports platform to back international growth

Verdane, the Northern European specialist growth equity investor, and Sprints Capital, the London-based growth and private equity firm, have announced a joint investment in MATCHi, a Nordic racket sports platform that connects players with venues. Verdane and Sprints Capital will support the Company’s position as a market leader in the Nordics, as well as its international expansion, through their shared experience backing growing tech-enabled businesses in Western and Northern Europe.

Founded in 2012 in Gothenburg, Sweden, by Chief Executive Daniel Ekman and co-founder and Head of Engineering Mattias Lundström, MATCHi acts as a digital “matchmaker” between racket sports players and venues, by offering a simplified court booking and payment system, activities and courses, player partnering and automated racket rentals. It also provides administration, automation and accounting services to venue operators. Since its inception, MATCHi has grown into a niche market leader in the Nordics, with over 860,000 registered players and more than 1,000 active venues on the platform. The company has approximately doubled its revenues every year since launching in 2012.

As MATCHi consolidates its leadership position in the Nordic market, Sprints Capital and Verdane will use their expertise in partnering with ambitious and fast-growing tech-enabled businesses to support MATCHi’s plans for international expansion, through a strategy of acquisitions and by helping it establish its easily scalable platform in growing and fragmented markets globally.

Daniel Ahlstrand, Principal at Verdane commented: “We have been following MATCHi for some time now, and are thoroughly impressed with the Company’s consistently strong growth in the Nordics, where it has established itself as the market leader within its niche. MATCHi is well-positioned to export its easy-to-use and scalable platform globally, and with over 30 software and 25 digital consumer businesses in its portfolio, Verdane is an optimal partner to help MATCHi achieve its growth plans. We look forward to collaborating with Daniel, Mattias and their team, and to working alongside Sprints Capital on this next exciting phase of MATCHi’s development to make racket sports easier, more enjoyable and more accessible for all.”

Voria Fattahi, Partner at Sprints Capital commented: “We believe that MATCHi is well-positioned to excel in the coming years, and the company’s impressive growth to date is testimony to the passion the MATCHi team brings onto the court. With more people eager to play racket sports than ever, the Sprints Capital team is looking forward to helping MATCHi’s stellar team scale its operations to simplify work and play to the benefit of racket sports lovers everywhere.”

Daniel Ekman, CEO at MATCHi, commented: “We are pleased to partner with Verdane and Sprints Capital, investors that understand our growth ambitions and with strong track records in the software and digital consumer sectors. By bringing them on board, we will be able to scale our business both at home and internationally, and continue to increase customer value on our mission to empower people in racket sports through user-friendly tech. We look forward to exciting times working side by side on this journey.”

Sprints Capital and Verdane, which will be investing from Verdane Capital X, will both own equal ownership stakes in MATCHi. Financial terms for the transaction are not being disclosed.

Verdane is currently investing across the Nordics and Germany from Verdane Edda II, which closed earlier this year at its EUR 540 million hard cap, and its 6 billion SEK Verdane Capital X fund.