Surrey close £60m Oval Invincibles deal with Reliance after eight months October 1, 2025 Surrey have finally exchanged contracts with Reliance Industries over the shareholders’ agreement governing their new partnership in the Oval-based Hundred team after almost eight months of negotiations. The Mumbai Indians owners agreed to pay £60m for 49 per cent of the franchise in February, but talks over the finer details of the deal have been [...]
Manchester United stadium designer rakes in the millions September 22, 2025 The architecture empire founded by Sir Norman Foster has issued a £83m pay out after revenue and profit rocketed following a surge in activity in the Middle East. Foster + Partners has declared the huge dividend for the year to 30 April, 2025, which will be mainly paid to Canadian private investor, Hennick & Company. The [...]
Manchester United record sixth consecutive loss despite cuts September 17, 2025 Manchester United have reported a loss for the sixth consecutive year although their financial performance did improve in 2024-25 thanks to record revenue of £666.5m. United made a net loss of £33m, taking the club’s total losses to £391m since 2019-20, although that was markedly down on the previous year’s £131m deficit. Revenue grew by [...]
Raine Group: Inside bank behind Chelsea, Man United and Hundred deals September 17, 2025 When a team or sporting entity changes hands, those doing the buying and selling usually command the headlines and screentime; think the Glazer family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, or Roman Abramovich and Todd Boehly. But these well-known individuals could not complete their often multi-billion-pound transactions on their own. Enter, then, the Raine Group, the advisory [...]
Manchester City’s new Etihad Airways deal yet to take off despite Premier League deal September 17, 2025 Manchester City’s controversial sponsorship and naming rights deal with Etihad Airways has not yet been waved through as part of the club’s Associated Party Transaction settlement with the Premier League. The new long-term deal, which was blocked by the Premier League’s independent assessors two years ago, must still go through the top-flight’s Fair Market Value [...]
More subs, fewer sackings: Five key trends in European club football September 15, 2025 Every year Uefa provides a snapshot of the trends playing out across the continent’s top football leagues in its annual European Club Talent and Competition Landscape report. At 85 pages, it’s not a quick read but it is a useful window on how the game is evolving, from attendances and player workload to manager sackings [...]
Premier League spending gap shows why rivals are plotting overseas games September 4, 2025 It’s more than 10 years since Bernard Caiazzo, then the co-president of French club Saint-Etienne, called on Uefa to take steps to curb the rampant financial power of the Premier League. Caiazzo’s warning came after the English top division had just announced its latest record-breaking media rights deal, which he said could see it become [...]
Chelsea’s transfer window and what net spend says about your club September 4, 2025 “Feel more confident about our transfer business than I have done since the fall of the Roman Empire,” wrote a Chelsea supporter friend of this column. Chelsea are of course a transfer outlier, churning a huge roster of players, deploying ultra-long contracts (and hence amortisation periods) and happy to break even in the market. How [...]
Man United shareholder, Ratcliffe’s Ineos, buys into Castore with Belstaff deal August 28, 2025 Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos has announced a “significant strategic investment” into premium sports apparel brand Castore. The petrochemicals company will invest in the British clothing brand as part of a deal which will see Castore acquire 100 per cent of Ineos-owned Belstaff on a “debt-free, cash-free” basis. Castore enjoys sporting sponsorship [...]
Manchester United upset a triumph of culture over cash, says Grimsby chief August 28, 2025 Grimsby Town’s co-owner Jason Stockwood says their shock Carabao Cup defeat of Manchester United was a triumph of “great culture” over “buying success”. The League Two side stunned their Premier League opponents in a penalty shoot-out, having earlier taken a two-goal lead before being pegged back to 2-2 after 90 minutes. Grimsby’s squad has an [...]
