Skip to main content

Barnsley a success story for American owners

American investors need not be bad news as the example of play off contestants Barnsley shows.   A consortium led by financier Chien Lee bought the club in December 2017   .Fellow investors include Billy Beane, the baseball executive who invented the data-driven Moneyball system celebrated in a film of the same name.

The club must live within its means, with turnover about £10m this year. This is in a league where the average wage bill is £33m and the 24 clubs racked up combined operating losses of £382m last season, according to Deloitte.  

Lee and his co-investor Paul Conway had success at Nice in France before Barnsley. They have sold that club but built a portfolio across Europe.  Through Pacific Media Group, an advertising business, they own KV Oostende in Belgium, FC Thun in Switzerland and AS Nancy in France, with each performing better than when acquired.

Chien Lee told the Financial Times: “We feel we can do something meaningful using our vision and expertise. We are long-term investors. If we get into the Premier League the value of the club will go up. We are ahead of schedule.”

Paul Gallacher, 47, of Barnsley Supporters Trust, speaking to the Pink 'Un said the owners, who took over from local software entrepreneur Patrick Cryne, have kept their promises. “They have not thrown money at the Premier League dream. They have not saddled it with debt. They invest in the club, build slowly.”

“The worry is when the next owner comes along. What they would bring? Getting into the Premier League would be a good point to sell. That worries a lot of fans.”

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more

Spurs to sell minority stake

Tottenham Hotspur is in talks to sell a minority stake in a deal that could value it at up to £3.75 billion and pave the way for Joe Lewis and his family to sever ties with the Premier League football club. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is seeking an investment that values the club at between £3.5 billion and £3.75 billion, including debt. While the terms of any deal have not been finalised, City sources expect Spurs to sell about 10 per cent. The club is being advised by bankers from Rothschild on the sale. Tottenham wants to raise fresh capital for new player signings and to help fund the development of an academy for its women’s team, as well as a 30-storey hotel next to its north London stadium. The financier Amanda Staveley, who brokered the deal for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take over Newcastle United, is understood to be among the parties to have expressed an interest in Tottenham. Staveley’s fund, PCP Capital Partners, has raised about £500 million to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more