Record £3.2bn in private equity deals for sports teams as funds target football, rugby and F1 November 22, 2021 The last twelve months saw a record £3.2bn of sports team acquisitions by private equity funds, almost treble last year’s total, as they targeted football, rugby and Formula 1 teams, according to new data shared with City A.M. this afternoon. Last year saw an all-time high of 11 PE purchases of stakes in sports teams [...]
Premier League on rocky road with plans to regulate sponsorship deals in wake of Newcastle takeover November 18, 2021 The recent takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund created quite a storm – both in the media and, according to reports, the other Premier League clubs. Since the introduction of so-called financial fair play regulations at the start of season 2013-14 – known as the Profitability and Sustainability Rules in [...]
Chelsea Digital Ventures: The tech business spun out of a football club November 17, 2021 Look closely next time Romelu Lukaku or Pernille Harder takes a mid-match drink and you may notice something that marks Chelsea out from other football clubs. Because instead of taking a swig from a bottle of Lucozade, or another well known sports hydration brand, players at the west London club have their own in-house product. [...]
Squash Classic in full flow as director Garner aims for lasting legacy November 15, 2021 Penned into a glass box, four see-through walls surrounding you and a live audience on three sides. To many people, that would be the stuff of nightmares. But for the world’s best squash players, it’s one of the crown jewels of the year. Now into its 18th edition, the Canary Wharf Classic has grown from [...]
Ed Warner: Why sponsors should beat a path to Yorkshire November 11, 2021 Yorkshire County Cricket Club might just be the most exciting sponsorship proposition right now. Mired in a racism crisis of its own making, deserted by its full roster of corporate partners, staring down the barrel of a parliamentary select committee, investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission – but with a new chair and [...]
European Tour to rebrand as DP World Tour November 9, 2021 The European Tour has announced that it will rebrand as the DP World Tour from next season. The move will see the tour’s total prize money top $200m for the first time and comes amid renewed efforts from Saudi Arabia to lure the world’s top players to a new breakaway circuit. “This is hugely significant [...]
The light fantastic: How Okkulo is looking to ‘re-code’ athletes’ vision November 9, 2021 Filmmaker Mel O’Connor has had quite the story arc. He quit his job on Emmerdale and turned down work on an Idris Elba movie to follow his dream of developing an altogether different kind of visual experience. The result is a product, Okkulo, that he believes can not only revolutionise sport science but may also [...]
McLaren interview: North America, NFT’s and Drive to Survive October 22, 2021 Spanning five continents and 17 time zones, Formula 1 is a truly global sport. But with the expansion of the calendar in recent seasons and the increasing presence in the digital and online space, F1 teams are taking special interest in one market in particular: North America. McLaren are a case in point. The English [...]
Exclusive: Apex Group replaces Sandals as West Indies sponsor in six-figure deal October 21, 2021 T20 World Cup holders West Indies will today announce a new shirt sponsorship with global financial services provider Apex Group. Apex is replacing holiday company Sandals on the sleeves of the West Indies men’s cricket team, who play England in their first match of this year’s T20 World Cup on Saturday. The three-year partnership, which [...]
Jepkosgei and Lemma triumph as fans return to the London Marathon October 3, 2021 Joyciline Jepkosgei and Sisay Lemma won the women’s and men’s London Marathons for the first time as British junior doctor Phil Sesemann shocked the field to finish seventh. Over 40,000 took part in today’s Marathon, and 50,000 completed the race virtually, as crowds returned to the streets of the capital for the first time since [...]