A venture capital business, led by Connect Yorkshire EIR David Richards, says its two bids to buy the world’s oldest football club, Sheffield FC- founded in 1857 – have been rejected.
Yorkshire AI Labs said it wanted to make an investment worth “hundreds of billions” into Sheffield, including backing plans for a new 5,000-seater stadium along with a Home of Football museum. The firm specialises in nurturing early-stage tech companies by combining strategic investment with practical expertise.
David Richards, managing partner at Yorkshire AI Labs, said: This is not a story about football politics or personalities.
“It is about whether Sheffield and South Yorkshire choose to properly invest in and protect their status as the home of football, and whether Sheffield FC is treated as the global heritage institution it is.
“The proposal I am involved with is live and has been professionally structured and presented through an FCA-regulated UK investment bank, with independent verification and evidence of funding available under confidentiality.
“It is backed by a private family office with access to capital measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Richards stressed this is not speculative money, leveraged finance, or short-term funding, but is “institutional-scale, patient capital”, which is typically deployed into infrastructure, long-lived assets and global heritage institutions.
He added: “The level of investment under discussion for Sheffield would represent a small allocation for the fund, but would be transformational for the city region.
“This opportunity remains on the table today. The capital exists today. The interest exists today.
“Whoever owns Sheffield FC must be prepared to invest heavily and for the long-term to realise its potential as the world’s oldest football club and as a driver of jobs, tourism and regeneration for Sheffield and South Yorkshire.
“If the current owner has a fully funded plan to do that, that is entirely legitimate. What matters is not ownership, but whether the ambition is properly financed.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to anchor serious private investment in the city region using football heritage as the platform.
“The question is whether Sheffield chooses to align with that opportunity, or whether that capital ultimately deploys elsewhere.”
Richards told the BBC discussions with the club’s current owners over a takeover had “stalled”. TheBusinessDesk.com has contacted Sheffield FC for comment.
Sheffield FC’s men’s side play in the ninth tier of English football. Since 2001 the club have played their games outside their home city in Dronfield, Derbyshire. But the club have repeatedly tried to return to Sheffield.
Its latest effort – unveiled in November 2023 as a joint venture with Sheffield Eagles Rugby League Club – features proposals for a 5,000-seat stadium, cricket pavilion, football museum and a community sports hall at the former Sheffield Transport Sports Club.
Article via thebusinessdesk.com
