The £10m Question: Who’s Actually Running the Business?

You can invest millions into a business. But who is responsible for turning that investment into growth?

Private equity and institutional investment are transforming sport.

Between 2019 and 2024, private equity firms invested more than $55 billion into sports-related assets, spanning teams, leagues, media rights, technology, and fan engagement businesses.

But capital alone doesn't create value.

People do.

As investment increases, sporting organisations are becoming more sophisticated businesses — and the leadership required to run them is changing just as quickly.

The Kansas City Current: when investment meets execution.

The Kansas City Current provides a powerful example of what can happen when investment, infrastructure and commercial leadership come together.

Owners Chris and Angie Long privately financed the club's $140 million CPKC Stadium, the first stadium built primarily for a professional women's sports team.

The impact was significant.

The Current generated approximately $36 million in revenue in 2024, compared with around $3 million in its first season in 2021. Forbes reported that the stadium contributed to a more than $20 million revenue swing in its first season.

The lesson isn't simply that building a stadium creates revenue.

It's that the organisation needed the commercial capability to turn the asset into a business opportunity — through premium seating, sponsorship, naming rights, concessions, and events.

Investment created the platform. Leadership and execution unlocked it.

Bay FC: building the organisation from day one.

Sixth Street took a different approach with Bay FC.

Rather than investing in an established club, Sixth Street was the lead investor behind the launch of a completely new NWSL franchise, reportedly committing $125 million.

That creates a very different leadership challenge.

There is no existing infrastructure to inherit. No established commercial machine. No long-standing executive structure.

The organisation has to build the business, brand, team, commercial partnerships and fan base simultaneously.

Bay FC CEO Brady Stewart described Sixth Street's backing as being based on a vision of building a global sports franchise.

And that is exactly where leadership becomes part of the investment thesis.

When you're building from zero, the people you put in place aren't simply running the business — they're creating it.

Sunderland Women: investment changes the opportunity.

In April 2026, Bay Collective agreed to acquire a majority stake in Sunderland Women.

The investment is intended to support infrastructure, the academy, players, and staff, with the stated objective of building a more sustainable organisation.

Again, the interesting question isn't simply:

“How much money is being invested?”

It's:

“Does the organisation have the leadership capability to turn that investment into sustainable growth?”

Infrastructure can be funded.

Players can be recruited.

Commercial opportunities can be created.

But someone still must bring those pieces together.

The problem with hiring for where you are.

One of the biggest mistakes organisations can make during periods of growth is hiring for the business they currently have, rather than the business they are trying to become.

A £20m organisation doesn't necessarily need the same leadership profile when it becomes a £50m organisation.

A domestic sporting organisation preparing for international expansion may need executives with very different experience.

And a club moving into institutional ownership may suddenly require capabilities around governance, commercial strategy, reporting and value creation that weren't previously as important.

Growth changes the job.

And sometimes, it changes the team.

The £10m question

So, when investors, owners and boards assess an opportunity, perhaps the question shouldn't just be:

“What can this business become?”

It should also be:

“Who is going to get it there?”

Because the wrong leadership team can slow down an investment.

The right one can accelerate it.

At Redbox Talent Partners, we work with investors, owners, and organisations to identify the executives capable of leading through transformation, growth, and change.

Because the right leadership team isn't simply a hiring decision.

It's an investment decision.

References

CFA Institute — Private equity and sports: A natural partnership — analysis of more than $55bn of private equity investment into sports-related assets between 2019 and 2024; Forbes — The Future Of Women’s Pro Soccer Is Being Built In The Heart Of Kansas City — CPKC Stadium's $140m construction, Kansas City Current's $36m 2024 revenue and the reported $20m+ revenue increase; Forbes — The KC Current Are Ready To Expand Their Pioneering NWSL Stadium — further revenue and valuation figures for Kansas City Current, including $38m revenue in 2025 and an estimated $325m club valuation in 2026; Fortune — Sixth Street invested $125 million with an all-star roster to launch Bay FC — details of Sixth Street's investment and Bay FC's launch; Sixth Street — Sixth Street Adds to Support of Bay FC With Founding Kit Sponsorship — Sixth Street's role as lead investor and its stated vision for building a global sports franchise; BBC Sport — Bay Collective to take majority ownership of Sunderland Women — details of the 2026 acquisition and planned investment in infrastructure, academy, staff and players.