John Gillespie named Powerleague CEO

John Gillespie has been named as the new CEO of Powerleague, following the retirement of Christian Rose, who has held the role for the past seven years.

Gillespie, the company’s current Chief Commercial, Customer and Marketing Officer, will be tasked with overseeing the company’s transformation from a small-sided football centre operator into a multi-sport operator.

This will see Powerleague making a major investment into padel, which will see it introducing padel courts at nearly half of its clubs nationwide.

Powerleague currently operates 43 clubs across the UK, welcoming more than 9 million customers annually. In addition to its core football offering, the business manages over 250 third-party venues that provide both football and netball.

Gillespie will now oversee a £14 million UK-wide rollout, delivering 76 courts across 18 clubs by 2026. The new club is aimed at making the sport accessible to over 200,000 players annually, and cement Powerleague’s ambition to become the nation’s leading provider of urban sport.

Powerleague Group was recently acquired by Broadsword Investment Management Ltd (BIM), a UK-based private equity firm focused on real estate-backed growth opportunities.