British firms or individuals are the biggest shareholders in just five Premier League clubs as US ownership booms ahead of the new season.
Tony Bloom’s 96 per cent shareholding in Brighton and Hove Albion is the largest British stake in a Premier League club while Matthew Benham’s significant holding in Brentford is the only other figure over two-thirds majority.
While more than 66 per cent of Tottenham Hotspur is British-owned, the largest holding – Joe Lewis’ family trust – amounts to just 61 per cent of the London club.
West Ham – 39 per cent – and Manchester United – 29 per cent – are the other two clubs where the largest single stake is the largest, according to data compiled by The Athletic.
Further afield only two clubs are 100 per cent owned by one individual – Stan Kroenke at Arsenal and Shahid Khan at Fulham.
The data shows that 49 per cent of the shares in the 20 Premier League clubs, once stakes are traced back to individuals, are owned by individuals from the United States.
Premier League ownership
The United Kingdom – 22 per cent – is a distant second while the likes of China, Greece, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland all poll between four and five per cent of the shares in the Premier League.
Uruguay, Egypt, Czechia represent one-to-two per cent apiece while “institutions and other” also polls 2 per cent.
American ownership of European football has been steadily growing and recent deals, such as the Friedkin Group at Everton and Woody Johnson’s stake exchange with former Crystal Palace shareholder John Textor, point to that trend.
Compared to five clubs whose biggest shareholder is from the UK, 10 of the 20 Premier Clubs have their biggest or joint-biggest shareholder listed as a US individual, including the likes of Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Burnley, Chelsea, Leeds, and Liverpool.
Outside of the UK and US, Egypt’s Nassef Sawiris is the co-largest shareholder at Aston Villa; the UAE’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the largest shareholder at Manchester City; Greece’s Evangelos Marinakis holds the keys at Forest; Swiss-born Kyril Louis-Dreyfus controls Sunderland; and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – have the reins at Newcastle.
