One of Chelsea owner Todd Boehly’s key business investments has got off to a rocky start in 2024.
The American businessman became the public face of Chelsea when Clearlake Capital acquired the club for £1.75bn in 2022 – and the first 18 months of his premiership have been turbulent to say the least.
On the pitch, things seem to have stabilised for the West Londoners in recent months. They are now 6th in the table and have lost just once their last 15 Premier League games.
But Mauricio Pochettino‘s side’s good form is taking place against a backdrop of corporate uncertainty, with financial fair play (now called Profit and Sustainability rules, or PSR) a constant concern.
That drama is continuing while Boehly must also juggle his other business investments. And one of his prize assets, the sports technology company Sportradar, has just released its Q1 accounts for 2024.
The latest developments in Boehly’s financial empire
The multinational corporation Sportradar has posted a loss of £500,000 for the quarter, which was a significant step down on the £5.8m profit they announced in the same quarter last year.
Sportradar pointed to increased costs as the reason for the loss, specifically citing its new deals with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the National Basketball Association (NBA).
However, revenue between the two quarters actually increased, climbing from £178m to £228.1m.
Elsewhere, Boehly’s net worth has risen from £3.5bn in 2022 to £4.8bn in 2024 and there is relatively high confidence within the industry about his portfolio of assets, as well as the stability of his liabilities.
What does this mean for Chelsea and their FFP situation?
As a private equity investor, everything Boehly invests in he does so with a view to a profit.
His Eldridge Industries investment vehicle bought £125m shares in Sportsradar in 2021. The company’s market cap has since fallen considerably, from almost £5.6bn in 2022 to £2.5bn today.
While Boehly has shown no signs of wanting to pull out of the company, he will eventually want to see a return on his investment.
Given industry the business operates in, there are natural synergies and commercial opportunities between it and Chelsea, as well as the Premier League more broadly.
Chelsea have already faced scrutiny for getting into bed with companies in the Boehly ownership umbrella, but Boehly’s non-controlling stake in Sportradar means that likely would not be an issue.
Commercial income is one area that the Blues are targeting to ease their FFP woes, to varying degrees of success.
For example, they started this season without a front-of-shirt partner and are in danger of doing so again in 2024-25.
Chelsea will need to be smarter in the sponsorship market if they are to get out of the hole they have dug for themselves with their £1bn scattergun transfer approach.
Incidentally, Genius Sports is currently the holder of the Premier League’s data rights.
Genius Sports are arguably Sportradar’s main rivals in the data industry and settled a lawsuit with them in 2022 regarding Sportradar’s allegedly unlicensed collection of data from English top flight games.