News & Views

A round up of significant sport sector business stories in July 2025

To keep you up to date with activity in the sport sector, here is a brief round-up of some of the sector's more significant business stories in July 2025.

1.    Everton women’s team sold intra-group

The team (owned by Everton Football Club Women Limited) was firstly sold to Roundhouse Capital who are the ultimate parent company and the same company that bought Everton Football Club last year. There was then a subsequent intra-group sale of the team from Roundhouse Capital to a new company called EFCW Holding Company Limited.

It’s understood both transactions were at fair-market value, as required by the Premier League under its associated party transaction (APT) rules which govern deals between entities linked to a club’s ultimate beneficial ownership.

Our comment: The sale follows a similar approach adopted by Chelsea and Aston Villa who also sold their women’s team intra-group. The transaction is likely to benefit the men’s club from the standpoint of the Premier League profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) as the sale can be recorded as revenue in the club’s accounts, and under PSR, clubs cannot exceed maximum losses of £105m over a three-year accounting period.

The end result also means that the women’s team is owned by a standalone entity and can operate and attract investment through that vehicle. The transfer of ownership will likely increase the appeal of Everton Women to outside investors who are looking at specific investments into women’s football. 

2.    Morecambe FC sale rumbles on as the club are suspended from the National League

The sale saga of Morecambe FC took another turn in July as the club was suspended from the National League after a deadline passed for the current ownership to outline how the club would meet its financial obligations for the upcoming season. As a result, all first team football operations have ceased. Subsequent to this, all first team football operations have ceased as the insurance cover which was in place for the players has not been paid.

The stand-off by the current majority owners (Bond Group) and the prospective buyer (Panjab Warriors) who have previously received clearance from the EFL has continued this month with no sign of a breakthrough close.  This is despite a joint statement from the Panjab Warriors, the Shrimps Trust, a group of minority shareholders and Lizzi Collinge MP urging the sale to go ahead, with Panjab Warriors stating they have the funds in place to pay the outstanding wages immediately on completion.

Our comment:  The current events at Morecambe are a prime example of the type of ownership and financial uncertainty that the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) was created to prevent and resolve. The IFR’s primary purpose is to ensure the financial soundness and sustainability of clubs. The situation at Morecambe, with unpaid wages, an inability to meet financial obligations, and the looming threat of administration, means there is a direct threat to the club’s financial stability. The IFR through the framework of Football Governance Act 2025, would have the power to place bespoke conditions on the club to mitigate financial risk. Additionally, through a strengthened owners and directors test, the IFR has the power to test and, if necessary, remove unsuitable owners who are responsible for financial mismanagement, potentially forcing the sale of a club.

We await the IFR’s rules and guidance which will be published in due course and will shed further light on the level of regulation. In any event, the IFR needs a regime where there is a positive obligation on clubs to notify them if there are any financial issues. If financial oversight is enabled, will the IFR have a right to force a sale in a Morecambe scenario to ensure there is some teeth to the regulations? On the other hand, how draconian will the regulator be with their mandate? Will this impair commercial negotiations and solutions?

3.  The European Commission approves Liberty Media’s acquisition of Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder of MotoGp

Liberty Media and Dorna Sports are both international media companies. Liberty owns interests in a broad range of media, sports and entertainment businesses, including the exclusive commercial rights for the FIA Formula One World Championship, while Dorna Sports is the organiser and holder of the commercial rights for the motorcycle competition FIM World Championship Grand Prix (‘MotoGP').

Liberty Media proposed to acquire Dorna Sports and sought clearance of the acquisition from the European Commission. The Commission initially raised concerns as to the effect of the merger on the licensing of broadcasting rights for motorsports and launched an in-depth investigation. However, following that in-depth investigation the European Commission found that the acquisition would not in fact raise competition concerns and so cleared the acquisition.

As part of its in-depth review, the European Commission considered the likely effect of the proposed acquisition both from the perspective of the wider market for the broadcasting of rights for all sports content and from the perspective of the narrower market for the licensing of broadcasting rights for “non-premium” sports which take place on a seasonal basis (which it considered Formula One and MotoGP to be).

For the wider market (all sports), the Commission found that the merger parties faced strong competition from other sports, such as league football. 

For the narrower market (regular, non-premium sports), the Commission looked at the effect of the merger on the broadcasting of regular non-premium sports in six European countries. It found that the merger parties are not close competitors on those markets and that broadcasters would be able to license a range of other sports attracting larger or similarly large audiences.

Accordingly, on the basis of the above market definitions, as there would be important competitive constraints on the merged businesses after the merger, the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns and so was cleared.

Our comment: This case goes to show how important market definition is when assessing the effect of mergers on competition. The European Commission did find that for motorsports broadcasting rights in Europe, Formula One is the clear market leader and MotoGP is most often its only competitor. However, for the wider markets of all sports broadcasting and of all regular, non-premium sports broadcasting, the merged businesses would continue to face competition from the broadcasting of other sports.

Whether a Formula One petrolhead can take comfort from the fact that they can watch other non-premium sports instead of motor racing should the cost of watching Formula One on television become prohibitive is somewhat debatable.

4.    Professional Triathletes Organisation secures Series C funding boost

The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) recently announced the successful completion of a Series C funding round, led by SURJ Sports Investment (SURJ) and supported by Cordillera, Verance Capital and Sir Michael Moritz. The circa $40 million round of funding builds on previous investment rounds and is aimed to enable the expansion of the sport into Saudi Arabia, and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Our comment: The PTO is co-owned by triathletes themselves, and enables them to have a say in the direction of the sport, as well as enabling them to benefit from its growth through a level of control over a portion of its commercial profits. However, this funding round is a further example of venture capitalists and private investment, SURJ is a sports investment company wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) wanting a piece of the commercial pie.

The funding will help to facilitate continued international growth and innovation of the T100 Triathlon World Tour. The corporate structure of the PTO is essentially a hybrid of a not-for-profit organisation and a commercial entity. Its commercial events, including the T100 Tour, are co-owned by the triathletes and outside investors, and are examples of how a sport can be commercialised and grown, whilst maintaining athlete involvement.

5.    AI powered fan platform co-founded by Roberto Carlos and Gilberto Silva fund raises through crowdfunding

Striver, an AI-powered social media platform for the football community, co-founded by two legendary Brazilian footballers, Roberto Carlos and Gilberto Silva, has closed its crowdfunding campaign after raising almost £350,000. Striver’s core mission is to create an "abuse-free" online space for fans and players to connect. It aims to do this by utilising AI technology to moderate content before it goes ‘live’.

Our comment: This is a prime example of a start-up opting for a crowdfunding approach over traditional forms of investment, such as venture capital or debt investment via bank loans. Why? Firstly, a crowdfunding campaign serves as a powerful market test. A successful campaign demonstrates that there is genuine public interest and demand for a product or service and creates a community of early adopters and users through this pool of investors.

Secondly, depending on the form of crowdfunding, it allows the founders to maintain control and avoid equity dilution. This may be done by rewards based crowdfunding and giving no equity at all, or equity crowdfunding, which does involve the issuing of shares, but it’s to a large number of small investors, and therefore it doesn’t allow a large single investor to exert influence over the company through shareholder or board control, which is something they may demand as a condition of the investment.

Further information

These developments represent significant shifts in the sports business ecosystem, each with the potential to create new opportunities and challenges.

Our team can provide in-depth analysis and tailored advice to help you navigate these exciting changes in the sports business landscape.  If you have questions or would like to have an exploratory discussion, please feel free to email Philip Bowers or call 0151 906 1000.