Fasanara and Tifosy team up for $250m sports receivables fund

UK-based firms Fasanara Capital and Tifosy Capital & Advisory have partnered to launch a credit fund focused on sport receivables.

The firms claim it is the first such fund in the world and has received $50 million of seed capital from Fasanara. It is now open to external investors and is targeting a soft close on $250 million with a hard-cap of $500 million.

The Sports Lending Fund will provide football clubs with access to working capital financing, a solution which they said is not available to many clubs. It will seek to achieve yields through lending strategies developed in house by Fasanara and Tifosy. It will invest in traditional receivables but will also provide asset-backed financing.

Fasanara has experience in credit analysis and loan management, while Tifosy has professional sports industry expertise and an origination network within the sports sector.

It has already executed 10 deals across five countries and expects to scale up to have active deals with between 20 and 30 clubs in the top leagues. It will initially focus on opportunities in European professional football but will also look to open up to other geographies and professional sports.

Francesco Filia, CEO of Fasanara Capital, said: “Sport is a new and growing asset class providing diversified returns that are broadly resilient to wider macro-economic turbulence. Strong commercial tailwinds, increased institutional ownership and continued professional management in the sector are all leading to increased investor demand, while steadily growing squad values, media rights and club valuations offer reliable sources of collateral.”