Avenue Sports Fund Invests in Ipswich Town Football Club

Avenue Sports Fund Invests in Ipswich Town Football Club

PR Newswire

NEW YORK and IPSWICH, England, Aug. 13, 2024

NEW YORK and IPSWICH, England, Aug. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Avenue Sports Fund today announces that it has partnered with Bright Path Sports Partners following its c44% acquisition of Gamechanger 20 Ltd, the owner of Ipswich Town Football Club ("Ipswich Town" or the "Club").

Ipswich Town competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. At the end of the 2023-2024 season, the Club was promoted to the EFL Premier League from EFL Championship. The Ipswich, Suffolk-based club had been promoted from EFL League One to EFL Championship after the 2022-2023 season, making it one of only five teams since the Premier League was introduced in 1992 to achieve back-to-back promotions.

"We are thrilled to partner with Bright Path, PSPRS and other investors to support the long-term growth of Ipswich Town," said Marc Lasry, Avenue Capital's Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder. "The Club has demonstrated remarkable focus and energy in its successive promotions and we welcome the opportunity to support the team and CEO Mark Ashton and the talented Ipswich Town organization to maintain the Club's momentum in the Premier League."

Bright Path co-founder and Managing Partner, Phillip Ciano, stated, "The addition of Marc Lasry and Avenue takes our Ipswich Town investment to an entirely different level. Marc's deep financial and strategic experience has already paid dividends, and we look forward to growing our partnership beyond global football." 

Mark Ashton, Ipswich Town CEO, said, "The Ipswich Town organization and I welcome the investment by Avenue and the commitment by Marc Lasry and the broader team to share strategic perspectives as we move forward. These contributions will be invaluable as our club competes in the Premier League." 

Avenue Capital will have representation on the Ipswich Town Board of Directors and will provide strategic input in addition to the equity capital and lending facility. Among other things, Avenue's Marc Lasry will draw on his experience as former Co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA championship team in providing guidance to Ipswich Town as it seeks to compete at the highest level of English football over the long term.

About Avenue Sports Fund
Launched in 2023, Avenue Sports Fund provides capital solutions to a wide variety of established teams and leagues across the globe, as well as investments in emerging sport properties to capitalize on areas of exponential growth. Avenue Sports Fund, led by Marc Lasry, is a fund of Avenue Capital Group, a global investment firm focused on making opportunistic credit and other special situation investments across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Avenue, founded in 1995 by Mr. Lasry and Sonia Gardner, draws on the skills and experience of over 60 investment professionals and more than 180 employees operating from its headquarters in New York and offices in Europe, Asia and Abu Dhabi. Avenue has assets under management of approximately $12.5 billion.

Contact for Avenue: Todd Fogarty, Kekst CNC, todd.fogarty@kekstcnc.com

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SOURCE Avenue Capital Group