The Gardiner Group has acquired The Pickle Island, a Sri Lankan pickleball venture, marking its entry into the country’s emerging sports and recreational leisure market, the Daily FT reported.
Former Sri Lanka cricket captain and investor Aravinda de Silva joins as a partner in the deal.
The group describes the acquisition as the first step in a broader strategy to build a portfolio of diversified leisure businesses in Sri Lanka.
The buyer
Gardiner Group is a Sri Lankan hospitality and investment group whose portfolio includes the Galle Face Hotel, established in 1864; Ceylon Hotels Corporation PLC, with its hotels and resthouses; and The Kandy Hotels Company (1938) PLC, owner of the Queen’s Hotel and Hotel Suisse in Kandy. It also holds 50:50 joint venture interests in Uga Giri Ella and Radisson Hotel Kandy.
Group Director for Investments and M&A Seshaan Gardiner said the move reflects a wider ambition.
“Our heritage is in hospitality, but our vision extends well beyond the traditional hotel experience, as we see significant opportunities to invest in Sri Lanka’s evolving leisure and lifestyle landscape,” he said. “The Pickle Island represents one of several strategic investments we intend to make as we expand into new sectors.”
The business acquired
The Pickle Island was founded by Ronali and Dilshan Michael to give people an outlet to socialise and connect through sport, and has built a community around pickleball in Sri Lanka. Both founders will remain closely involved, the group said, to preserve the business’s identity and ethos.
The partnership is intended to support growth through wider access, sporting social events and community initiatives.
“Sport has the ability to bring people together,” de Silva said. “I look forward to supporting The Pickle Island as it continues to grow and create more opportunities for people to participate.”
Not reported
The filing does not disclose the purchase price, the stake acquired, or how it is split between Gardiner Group and de Silva. It gives no revenue or membership figures for The Pickle Island, does not say how many courts or venues the business operates, and names no other targets in the planned leisure portfolio.
On sourcing: this report rests on a single verified source and is drawn from the acquirer’s own announcement; no other verified newsroom had covered the transaction at the time of writing.
