Burnley: US investors complete takeover of Premier League side
Written by News on 31/12/2020
US investors ALK Capital have completed their takeover of Premier League club Burnley.
New chairman Alan Pace said the new owners were “fully prepared” to back manager Sean Dyche.
The deal was completed after being approved by the Premier League and comes on the eve of the January transfer window.
Burnley currently stand 16th in the league, five points clear of the relegation zone, after a 1-0 win over bottom club Sheffield United on Tuesday evening.
The Lancashire club is the latest to come under American ownership following Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Fulham.
The takeover was completed through ALK’s sports investment arm Velocity Sports Media, which has acquired an 84% stake in the club from British owners Mike Garlick and John Banaszkiewicz.
Mr Pace, a dual British-American national who replaces Mr Garlick as chairman, was formerly chief executive of Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake.
Mr Garlick and Mr Banaszkiewicz will remain on the new board of directors.
Burnley was one of the founder members of the Football League in 1888 and won the English league title in 1921 and 1960.
The Clarets are currently enjoying their fifth straight season in the Premier League after promotion from the Championship in 2016. Sean Dyche has been manager since 2012.
The club earlier this year reported a profit of £5m for the year to the end of June 2019.
Its takeover comes at a time when football clubs are struggling with reduced revenues as matches are played without fans due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Mr Pace said it was the “start of an exciting new journey for the entire Clarets family”.
He told club media: “We are very prepared to come in and support Sean and the management team.
“We need time to get in and understand what their needs are, what they have been planning for, what the decisions were which they have taken so far and where they are desiring to go to – but we are fully prepared to back the manager.
“What attracted us specifically to Burnley had a lot to do with the passion of the fans, the quality of the club and the way that it had been managed, the longevity of the coaching staff and the ability for us to see a path to growth.
“For us, we would not do anything that is not on a long-term basis – this is not a short ‘buy-to-flip’ opportunity.”
ALK describes itself as specialising in “acquisition and operations of modern sports, media, and entertainment assets, and related technologies”.
Earlier this year, it invested in two London-based football technology firms, AiScout and Player LENS, which are involved in data analytics and predictive assessment of players.
(c) Sky News 2020: Burnley: US investors complete takeover of Premier League side
