« back to reports
Q4 2023
PitchBook Analyst Note: Private Capital in European Football: Part II
November 14, 2023
PE finds the more the merrier for European football investments
Private capital investment has become a mainstay of European football. And the use of a multiclub ownership (MCO) model, where a sponsor owns more than one club, has more than quadrupled in the last decade. Within the top five major leagues in Europe, MCO ownership has gone from 36.7% of the clubs last season to 41.7%.
Following up our first European football analyst note, Part II of the series examines why mostly US-based investors have chosen to own more than one team—outlining the benefits and drawbacks of the MCO model while also reviewing the regulatory framework. In addition, we detail the major investors in the MCO space, breaking them out by PE funds, sports funds, VC funds, CVCs, and hedge funds.
Table of contents
Private capital investment has become a mainstay of European football. And the use of a multiclub ownership (MCO) model, where a sponsor owns more than one club, has more than quadrupled in the last decade. Within the top five major leagues in Europe, MCO ownership has gone from 36.7% of the clubs last season to 41.7%.
Following up our first European football analyst note, Part II of the series examines why mostly US-based investors have chosen to own more than one team—outlining the benefits and drawbacks of the MCO model while also reviewing the regulatory framework. In addition, we detail the major investors in the MCO space, breaking them out by PE funds, sports funds, VC funds, CVCs, and hedge funds.
Table of contents
| Key takeaways | 1 |
| Introduction | 3 |
| Multiclub ownership | 3 |
| The structure | 3 |
| The benefits | 5 |
| The regulations | 6 |
| The MCO scepticism | 8 |
| Private capital investors | 8 |
| Investors by type | 9 |
| Most active investors | 11 |