According to the Financial Times newspaper, General Electric’s media, communications and entertainment unit, will target takeover deals and club refinancing packages for clubs in the Premier League and the top half of the Football League Championship.
“The English Premier League has for some time generated the most income of all the major European leagues,” says Harry Philp, Managing Director of Hermes Sports Partners Ltd. “But the last few seasons have witnessed a substantial improvement in most clubs’ financial management with growing stadium, broadcast and commercial revenues and significantly enhanced cost discipline, in particular, player wages.”
Philp added that it is easier for foreign investors to acquire control of clubs in the UK compared to the other major leagues where many clubs are either owned by family dynasties (Italy) or fans (Spain) or where majority foreign control is prohibited (Germany).
General Electric has linked up with the London-based sports finance and advisory firm, Hermes Sports Partners, to create a sports financing unit dedicated to European sports properties.
