Private equity group Patron has taken a 29% stake in five-a-side football club operator Powerleague. It will provide access to a property portfolio that should accelerate expansion in the UK and overseas.
Patron Capital has paid £23.1 million for its shareholding in Powerleague. It bought the stock from chairman Claude Littner and chief executive Sean Tracey. They are left with a combined stake of just under 7%. Patron insists the move is not a precursor to a full takeover of the business.
A spokesperson for Powerleague argues that the transaction is a good example of why companies list on the Aim stock market. 'The chairman and chief executive took this business from 3i in 2003 and have built it up into a larger operation. They are entrepreneurs and selling down most of their holding to Patron as they believe it is best option to grow the business even further.'
The private equity group is expected to help Powerleague expand across the UK and Europe. It claims to have strong relationships with leisure and sports industries around the world, as well as skills in property investing. It plans to 'extract value from Powerleague's real estate'.
Patron has a large landbank in the UK and Europe. It will make available some of this to Powerleague for potential new site developments. The Powerleague spokesperson said: 'It can often take up to three years of negotiations once a new site is found before approval is given for a new sports facility. Using Patron's landbank means new sites should be built much faster.'
Several property and finance specialists join the board of Powerleague. Former Slough Estates chairman Paul Orchard-Lisle becomes non-exec director. Patron managing director Keith Breslauer also takes a non-exec role, bringing experience from senior positions in investment bank Lehman Brothers.
Five-a-side football continues to grow in popularity and, in turn, is becoming more competitive. Aim-quoted Goals Soccer Centres recently announced plans to expand into North America and South Africa.
Powerleague bought JJB Sports' Soccer Dome operation last month. In the last six months of 2007, investment costs in opening new sports centres resulted in a slight drop in pre-tax profit for Powerleague's first-half trading period.
It made £1.87 million pre-tax profit, against £1.98 million a year earlier. Sales for the period rose 4% to £11.3 million.
'The popularity of 5-a-side football continues unabated and participation numbers continue to increase,' said chairman Claude Littner.
Growth for the second-half will focus on integrating the Soccer Dome centres rather than further site openings.
Shares in Powerleague increased by 9% to 88p.
