This sporting life
What is it with sports investments and entrepreneurs?
Hello Rainmakers,
A few sports deals have caught our attention over the last week.
But what is consistently amazing is how the allure of the shiny bauble of sport seems to attract the people least suited to the discipline of running a sports venture, on one hand, but also it sees smart people lose their minds.
Let us take you on a journey from Old Trafford, to Matlock, Bedford and back to Salford, where a consortium including a Tongan rap star and a Swiss Italian ghost have been given approval to buy a Super League club.
The English Cricket Board hopes to raise a minimum of £350 million in a series of auctions for the franchises of the Hundred short form version of the sport.
Lancashire have secured the IPL partner they wanted to run Manchester Originals as a joint venture, with Sanjiv Goenka's RPSG Group submitting the highest bid for a stake, believed to be £116m.
RPSG also owns Lucknow Super Giants, and first tried to buy London Spirit but were outbid by tech bros from Silicon Valley.
The process is being run by the US investment bank Raine Group and could secure the future of the sport.
Described by Lancashire as “a historic investment” the deal boosts Manchester Originals ambitions to become a leading cricket brand in the Hundred format, which runs male and female teams and plays in an eight team league in the summer.
Lancashire board member James Sheridan, also the group M&A director at law firm Knights, said he was particularly focused on developing the Hundred format as a spectator sport aimed at families, young fans as a way of building the sport in diverse communities.
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Just a few miles down the road, TheBusinessDesk.com last week revealed that the prime mover behind the consortium was Saia Kailahi, a Tongan music artist resident in Australia, an old school friend of Salford’s assistant coach Krisnan Inu.
The original official statement on the proposed takeover made no mention of Kailahi, but instead named Swiss property investor Dario Berta, CEO of Matanel, which it says is “an investment bank that specialises in real estate investment”. However, the RFL has approved the deal: “The RFL has today approved the Change of Control and all Owners and Directors Tests whilst also lifting the Sustainability Cap that has applied to Salford Red Devils since they were given an advance on their central distribution in December.
“The club’s new ownership group have met the conditions that were necessary.
“All Salford’s first team squad are therefore available for selection for Saturday’s Betfred Super League Round Two fixture against Leeds Rhinos – with their initial squad of 21 due to be submitted by midday today (Thursday).”
Salford City Council, the landowner of the Salford Community Stadium, which also loaned the club money, referred all questions back to the club.
A spokesperson said: “I’ve been advised that queries around the takeover of Salford Red Devils are a matter for the club so should be directed to them. Like all fans, we hope that this move brings them a sustainable long-term future.”
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In Bedford things have taken an even stranger turn. The Winklevoss brothers who claimed they really invented Facebook, but that Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea, used the $65 million settlement to get into crypo.
This week they completed a $4.5 million investment in Real Bedford Football Club, which they want to grow their current fanbase of 300 in the Southern League Division One to the Premier League.
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An unnamed investor has also started pumping money into Northern Premier League side Matlock Town, it has emerged.
The backer was revealed at the AGM and EGM of The Gladiators when the company that owns the club changed its status to Limited by Shares, to “allow for future investment”.
A statement from Matlock Town said: “A vote was taken by season ticket holders for that change in status to take place. An investor was approved at this meeting, who has passed the Football Association’s Owners and Directors Test as well as thorough due diligence having been performed by the board.”
The motion was passed by a “substantial” majority.
Controversial Nottingham businessman, David Hilton – former owner of Scunthorpe United and one-time chairman of Ilkeston Town – is rumoured to be the unnamed backer.
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Big news in the pet world – Solihull-based veterinary giant Linnaeus has snapped up Rutland Veterinary Centres and Kings Veterinary Centres (RVC), looking after thousands of furry friends across Leicestershire and Rutland.
With over 180 practices, Linnaeus is now stretching its paws further into the East Midlands, bringing even more expertise and care to local pets.
RVC’s team has said it is looking forward to working alongside the skilled vets and nurses across the Linnaeus network, with plans to improve technology, equipment, and training.
Plus, its Melton Mowbray practice is getting a new purpose-built facility.
Looks like this partnership is going to be a paw-sitive change for local pets and their owners.
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You may never have heard of JMAN, but last month it become the first data specialist to be named on a Private Equity exit in the UK after Horizon’s exit from Dains.
As Anna Cooper discovered, JMAN is fueling 88 PE funds and more than 200 portfolio companies across 38 countries with data services from its offices in London, New York and Chennai. Its team of 360 consultants, data scientists and full-stack engineers empower PE to translate data into tangible value.
The data specialist also defined the “metrics that matter”, building insight tools to present the description and diagnosis of performance.
To read the full story, click this button…
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If you've ever worked in what we today might call an "old fashioned" office, you may remember your colleagues scoffing at the idea of the "paperless office" and suggesting such a thing could never happen.
So...maybe this paperless existence hasn't happened at the lightning pace that digital evangelists would have expected.
But one company dedicated to helping banish paper from our working lives is InFormed Software, which digitises paper-based reporting and processes.
Leeds-based technology and software business, TPP Retail Group, has now acquired a one-third stake in InFormed.
The buyer explains the deal should combine InFormed Software's technical strength with TPP Retail's sales and marketing engine.
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Subscribers to Rainmakers got first sight of another banger this week.
We’ve had an update on the moving story about self-styled private equity business Inc & Co and its portfolio of investments.
As we have reported before, the main man behind it is in prison, but you have to feel for the staff and businesses caught in the storm.
To read the full story, click this button…
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Garry Wilson, founder of private equity firm Endless, was named Yorkshire Ambassador at the Yorkshire Business of the Year Awards.
After establishing Endless 20 years ago, Garry was recognised for his commitment to securing and creating jobs and boosting entrepreneurial wealth creation.
The firm’s excellent track record for turning around companies has safeguarded 40,000 jobs through more than 100 acquisitions. Garry, who has been chair of the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) and sits on the Board of the Leeds Children’s Hospital Fund, has been a key figure in promoting the private equity industry and what can be achieved from the regions.
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Technology businesses offer the intriguing possibility of exponential growth and global scale, sometimes dressed up in the cliché of “find the next Facebook”.
But with such a disruptive landscape and costs of gaining traction, how do investors balance the potential rewards with the very real costs and competitive risks?
Those are the key questions we’ll be discussing with an experienced panel at our 2025 Rainmakers conference.
So save the date for Rainmakers 2025 – Wednesday 26 March, 2025 – and secure your place today.
The Point, Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester.
The 2025 Rainmakers Conference is being supported by BGF, Dow Schofield Watts, NorthEdge, Palatine, Shawbrook, Squire Patton Boggs.
Joining us will be Helen Oldham from Lifted Ventures, Kit Muir-Rogers from GigPig, Pat Molyneux from KPMG Acceleris, Cheshire Business Board Steve Purdham who successfully built and sold Surf Control, and David Richards of Yorkshire AI Labs.
It will bring more opportunities to network, more amazing speakers, more candid debate, more inspiring entrepreneurs, but also a chance to discuss the challenges of value creation.
The first Rainmakers Conference this March sold out, with more than 400 people attending to hear the insights and perspectives from entrepreneurs, investors and advisors, and to network with senior figures from across the corporate finance community.
Backed by headline partner twisted loop partners BGF British Business Bank Dow Schofield Watts KPMG NorthEdge Palatine Shawbrook Squire Patton Boggs & TDC
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