The Growing Trend Of American Investment in UK Sports
Investment has rocketed in all sorts of sports throughout the decades, although never more so than in the past 20 to 30 years. Areas like football have seen funding explode and this has allowed them to grow to considerable new heights. But the source of those funds is no longer the same as it used to be.
Once the new millennium hit, the Middle East got involved in the UK sports scene, so did Russia for many years and that trend continued for a long time. Indeed, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich became the owner of Chelsea FC in 2003. His injection of funding continued until 2022 and had Russia not invaded Ukraine, he may still have been with the club now.
Yet in more recent years, the Middle East and Russia have not been quite as active. It’s true that some football clubs are still owned by Gulf states. A Saudi Arabia-led consortium owns Newcastle United, Sheikh Mansour of the UAE is in control of Manchester City and Aston Villa comes under the ownership of Egypt’s Nassef Sawiris. Middle Eastern aviation companies have also invested in UK (and European) football, but now, more so than ever before, it’s the United States taking over.
The last few years has seen a burgeoning interest from across the seas and this has led to some big sales of clubs, stadiums and so on. What is the reason that America is investing in UK sports industries so heavily? Is this investment likely to continue increasing in the future and will UK sports be driven to look more like US sports as a result?
Football Investments From The U.S.
Without a doubt, football is the UK’s most-loved sport. From those teams participating in the Premier League through to small local teams. Up and down the country, fans of football frequent the grounds to watch their favourite teams. It comes as little surprise that this sport has received the most investment from the USA.
Today, American investment in Premier League clubs is a common occurrence. Plenty of teams within the league are either part-owned or completely owned by U.S. companies and the likelihood is that that won’t stop anytime soon, either.
Earlier on in September of 2022, reports arose surrounding the sale of Bournemouth FC. According to some sources, businessman Bill Foley is in line to take over the team. He is the majority owner of the National Hockey League (NHL) team the Vegas Gold Knights. Bournemouth’s owner, Maxim Demin is in talks with Foley, who is leading a consortium. If successful, the sale of the club could come at a price of £150 million.
This takeover would mean that more than half of the Premier League clubs have some U.S. connection. Demin is Russian-born but is a British citizen. He has been the sole shareholder at Bournemouth since 2019. Meanwhile, 77-year-old Foley bases himself out of Las Vegas. He owns 70% of the city’s first major league franchise. Sources suggest that he is confident of being able to complete the Bournemouth deal.
In May of this year, reports also arose around a potential investment in Norwich City. Owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, Mark Attanasio was at the heart of that. The multi-millionaire businessman attended City’s final Premier League game of last season. Reports state that any investment from him would not change the majority shareholders. At present, they are Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones.
But Norwich has been operating on a self-funded model and that has left them limited with regard to finances. At least in comparison to many other football teams at Premier League level. Norwich ended last season dropping to the Championship division. With extra funding, they may have a chance at a better finish.
Some of the other Premier League owners or part-owners from the USA include:
Arsenal
Stan Kroenke and the Kroenke Sports Group invested in Arsenal in 2007. It was four years ago that Kroenke took full control of the club. The American billionaire has come under fire for not communicating with supporters.
Aston Villa
American billionaire Randy Lerner is the former owner of Aston Villa. In 2018, Wesley Edens united with Nassef Sawiris to buy a controlling stake in the club. Their combined net worth sits at around $9.9 billion, some estimate.
Chelsea
Roman Abramovich suffered sanctions from the UK after Russia invaded Ukraine. This led to Chelsea seeking out a new owner. Todd Boehly came to the team’s rescue. The American investor is the principal owner of the LA Dodgers.
Crystal Palace
The largest individual owner of Palace since 2021 is John Textor. He owns 40% of the club, having invested around £114.7 million. Palace Holdco LP, which owns 41%, is also led by American investors. They are Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who have served Crystal Palace since 2015.
Fulham
In 2013, Pakistani-American billionaire Shahid Khan entered into the Fulham sphere. He purchased the club from former owner Mohamed Al Fayed. That sale went through for between £150 million and £200 million in profit for Al Fayed. Khan (who owns the Jacksonville Jaguars) runs Fulham with his son, Tony (who handles wrestling company AEW in the U.S.).
Leeds United
Andrea Radrizzani, an Italian businessman, is the majority owner of Leeds United. But in 2018, 49ers Enterprises took a minority share in the club. Denise DeBartolo York, Jed York and John York own 49ers Enterprises. Talks have been rife over the possibility of them taking over Leeds altogether.
Liverpool
Fenway Sports Group entered into the Liverpool scene in 2010. It bought the club for £300 million at the time. John W. Henry and Tom Werner are the owners of that company. Liverpool now ranks as the 5th most valuable football club in the world, as of 2021.
Manchester United
Back in 2005, Malcolm Glazer bought a 27.8% stake in Manchester United. That led to him having a controlling interest in a takeover. This valued the club at £800 million. Unfortunately, excessive borrowing left United with debts of £540 million. Glazer died in 2014 and his family retained ownership. Protests over their owning of the club by fans have been frequent.
West Ham United
American billionaire Albert Smith got himself a 10% share in the Hammers in 2017. Welsh businessman David Sullivan owns 38.8%. Meanwhile British businessman David Gold has 25.1%. The remaining 27% of shares are in the hands of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.
American Investment Funds a Risk to English Football?
While an injection of funds may seem quite helpful to some, others aren’t quite as appreciative. Former footballer and current Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville doesn’t like it. He spoke in an exclusive with FourFourTwo, voicing his concerns over American investments.
Neville spoke out about being very wary of investments from people like Boehly. With ideas of how All-Star games could become a part of English football, could it be in for a change? Well, if American investors get their way, then it could be so.
“I actually think American investment funds are a greater risk to English football than nation states”,
said Neville in the interview.
“Nation states bring their own issues like workers’ rights, human rights and LGBT rights, but I don’t think they have the intention of damaging football in this country”,
he continued. As co-owner of Salford City, which plays in League Two, Neville has a lot of insight.
“American investment funds want to change the fabric. They want to create franchise football, to change the rules of the game, extract profits and dividends”.
But it’s not only the sport of football that American businessmen and tycoons have their eyes on. Indeed, other sports have been captivating the men with all the money.
Other Sports Attracting American Investors
Football may be the biggest sport in the UK and that is likely to always be the case, yet some believe that basketball could also reach new heights here. British basketball is a “sleeping giant” and needs a dose of American money to make it massive, at least, that’s what some say.
These same people also say that it has the potential to become the biggest thing outside of the NBA. One of them is the vice president of a company that is giving £7 million to the sport and he is, of course, American. 777 Partners, which bases itself out of Miami, Florida, has a belief in its abilities. Through partnering with basketball in the UK, it aims to raise the profile of the sport.
At the moment, participation in basketball in the UK is only second to football. Back in December of 2021, 777 Partners took a 45% stake in the British Basketball League. In doing so, it had the goal to overtake other professional basketball leagues. This includes those operating in Australia and Spain.
“We generally think the commerciality of basketball outside of the NBA hasn’t caught up internationally. And so we think there’s a massive opportunity”,
said Lenz Balan. He serves as that vice president of 777 Partners. He is the one who also labelled basketball in the UK as ready to be something huge.
The NBA has a big following in the United Kingdom and it is also acknowledged as being a catalyst for good amongst disadvantaged people. Yet the British sports scene doesn’t often highlight basketball, instead, rugby, cricket and, of course, football, tend to dominate. The British Basketball League therfore gets little exposure and Balan believes that that is down to the lack of investment in the sport.
While the basketball scene grew in popularity a fair bit in the 90s, it hasn’t continued on that level. Then again, with the league having no official sponsor, it’s understandable. Plus, major cities like Liverpool, Birmingham and others aren’t involved in basketball.
It’s also important to highlight the lower football leagues in the UK, too. Recently, lower-league clubs have fallen under the watchful eye of American investors. Peter Freund is one such businessman, who has invested in Major League Baseball (MLB). And on a 2010 visit to Dagenham & Redbridge football grounds, he saw something he liked.
Even though the football stadium wasn’t like anything in the MLB, even though it had crummy seats for 6,000 people and even though the ground exists within a residential area, this didn’t stop him. He now exists as the Executive Chairman of the National League club.
Rugby Union is another area where American investment has grown recently. Following COVID-19 lockdowns, sport event cancellations and so on, things didn’t look good. The financial and commercial scenario was far from normal. Headlines about Rugby Union over the past few years have surrounded financial investment. And nobody can deny that this is something it has needed.
One of the primary investors as of late has been CVC Capital Partners. This Luxembourg private equity firm has secured minority stakes in England Premiership Rugby. At the same time, it has entered into the Pro14 League. This features contests between clubs in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa.
Clubs within Rugby Union have also generated the potential for investment. Several club owners have confirmed that American firms have approached them. Their intent? To sponsor or invest in the clubs in some other way. In February of 2021, rumours about the London Saracens advancing with a deal were rife. Owner Nigel Wray ended up selling a majority stake in the club in October. In the end, it fell into the hands of a consortium for £32 million. Dominic Silvester fronted that group, and he is the CEO of Enstar Group. That company has a global network, which includes the USA.
