Burnley FC
ALK Capital (Velocity Sports Partners) acquisition · 31 Dec 2020
- Seller
- Longshot Investors / previous Burnley FC Holdings shareholders
- Stake acquired
- 84%
- Control
- Yes
- Reported consideration
- ~€189m
- Implied equity value
- —
- League
- Premier League
- Country
- England
- Confidence
- MEDIUM
Buyer profile: Velocity Sports Partners / ALK Capital: clubs owned, where they buy next
ALK Capital (Velocity Sports Partners) acquired a 84% majority stake in Burnley FC from Longshot Investors / previous Burnley FC Holdings shareholders, announced 31 Dec 2020.
Reported consideration was ~€189m. ~€66.6m of debt was assumed or restructured.
Nearest pre-acquisition revenue was €149m (FY 2019/20).
- Announced
- 31 Dec 2020
- Closed
- 31 Dec 2020
- Stake after transaction
- 84%
- Status
- completed
Reported consideration
What the buyer reportedly paid for the stake
Implied 100% equity value
Calculated: consideration ÷ stake acquired
Reported club valuation
Enterprise value
Only shown when debt/cash near the transaction date is established
Debt assumed / restructured
Primary capital injection
Total announced investment commitment
Commitments are not purchase price and not valuation
Nearest pre-acquisition financial year: 2019/20
Revenue
Wages
EBITDA
Net debt
Net income
The completion of ALK Capital's takeover on 31 December 2020, Alan Pace's role as Chairman, and the 84% stake are consistently reported across the club's own statement and multiple media outlets, though we could not re-verify the club's own page live (404 on refetch) or find a Premier League statement text specifically confirming the 84% figure, so stake_acquired_percent is REPORTED rather than CONFIRMED.
- Burnley FC official site: ALK Capital Completes Club Takeover ↗Tier 1 · primary company
2020-12-31 — “"On New Year's Eve 2020, ALK Capital completed their takeover of the Club"; confirms Alan Pace as Chairman and ALK Capital's ownership via Velocity Sports Partners. Direct fetch returned 404 on a follow-up attempt; content taken from search-indexed cache of the same official page.”
2020-12-31 — “Confirms completion of ALK Capital's takeover and Alan Pace's role as new owner/chairman; content taken from search-indexed excerpt.”
2020-12-31 — “Reports ALK Capital's purchase of an 84% controlling stake for around £170 million; content taken from search-indexed excerpt.”
2020-12-31 — “Confirms Alan Pace-led ALK Capital completion of the Burnley takeover and reported ~£170m deal value; content taken from search-indexed excerpt.”
- Fortune: Burnley, ALK Capital, private equity and the Premier League leveraged buyout ↗Tier 3 · media
2021-02-06 — “Describes the deal as funded partly by borrowing £37m from the club's own bank account and a £65m loan from MSD Holdings, raising questions about how much of the reported £170m was genuine new external capital vs. leverage secured on the target; content taken from search-indexed excerpt.”
- Football Economy (blog): Sound finances at Burnley (2019/20 accounts review, attributed to The Swiss Ramble) ↗Tier 5 · specialist media
2021-04-01 — “"Revenue fell £4m (3%) from £138m to £134m and expenses increased £9m, though profit on player sales rose £8m to £15m"; also notes Burnley were debt-free with £81m net funds before the takeover.”
- Burnley Express — 'As a business, Burnley are the best run club in the Premier League' (Kieran Maguire on the 2019/20 accounts) ↗Tier 3 · local media
2021-04-08 — “"The accounts showed turnover decreased slightly from £138m to £134m, mainly down to an £8.5m broadcaster rebate, while wages were up from £87m to £94m, taking into account that wage bill covered 13 months rather than 12 ... the accounts showed no debt, with £80m in the bank as at June 30th, 2020"; "ALK Capital acquired an 84% majority shareholding in the club ... with a mortgage-type loan – believed to be around £60m – taken out on Turf Moor and the club."”
- Inside World Football — Burnley to stay in the black – just – despite £10.5m covid hit ↗Tier 3 · specialist media
2021-04-05 — “"Turnover for the latest 13-month period amounted to £133.8 million, down from £137.8 million for the twelve months to end-June 2019"; "staff costs, which climbed past the £100-million mark because of the 13th month"; "pre-tax profit of just £4,000 against £5 million a year earlier".”
- Lancs Live — Burnley FC accounts: what they tell us, what they don't & what we might see from ALK going forward ↗Tier 3 · local media
2021-04-07 — “"It is understood ALK have so far paid £102million towards the Burnley takeover, with around £60million raised through a loan provided by Michael Dell's MSD UK Holdings ... That loan was taken out by Burnley FC and so the interest payments will be made by the club"; "That £81m figure [net funds], up from £42m ... part of that money, has been used by ALK to help fund the purchase of the club, effectively reducing the overall price."”
- Football Economy blog — 'Sound finances at Burnley' (summary of Swiss Ramble's review of the 2019/20 accounts) ↗Tier 4 · analyst transcription of accounts
2021-04-06 — “"Before the takeover Burnley were completely debt-free, having used Premier League cash to repay previous loans. In fact, the club had £81m net funds, which is testament to their sound financial management."”
2021-04-08 — “"the accounts showed no debt, with £80m in the bank as at June 30th, 2020" (accounting period actually extended to 31 July 2020).”