Football Clubs Becoming More Attractive For Investors

Football clubs were "once famous for being notoriously poor investments," with local benefactors "pumping their fortunes into a loss-making team out of devotion rather than in search of a profit," according to Miles Johnson of the FINANCIAL TIMES. In recent years, the stock market has "proved this received wisdom increasingly wrong." Shares in some publicly quoted European teams have "managed to beat the wider stock market over the past five years as revenues at top clubs have surged thanks to ballooning broadcast revenues." Shares in Juventus, controlled by the Agnelli family’s listed Exor vehicle, have "risen almost fourfold over the past five years," while the value of Arsenal has "doubled over the same period." However, ManU shares, listed in N.Y., have "not enjoyed the same success," generating a small return over the same period (FT, 8/13).