A breakaway European Super League has been roundly condemned by fans and football authorities, but for investors the money-spinning appeal was plain to see today.
Juventus shares surged by as much as 10% and New York-listed Manchester United was 5% higher in pre-market dealings after the pair were identified among 12 set to feature in a new midweek competition.
The others include Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
The multi-billion dollar plan is being financed by JP Morgan and will give the clubs involved an even bigger slice of the sport’s bumper cash pile, but in doing so they threaten the integrity of the sport.
Some think their motivation may be to pressure Uefa into giving them greater revenues from existing competitions. But if the plans do proceed, the repercussions for the clubs could be severe.
Markets.com analyst Neil WIlson warned: “The sort of additional revenues the ESL will deliver would need to be offset by a potential material decline or total loss of existing earnings from media deals through national leagues and Uefa.”
The controversial plans were the main topic of conversation among traders today, particularly given the lack of action on financial markets.
The FTSE 100 index continued its recent progress by adding 18.21 points to 7,037.74, with tech stocks Ocado and Just Eat Takeaway among the biggest risers after adding 60p to 2,241p and 158p to 8,041p respectively.
The top flight is still a long way short of its record high of 7,877 set in May 2018, with oil stocks one reason for London’s under performance compared with Wall Street. Brent crude was today slightly lower at $66 a barrel, contributing to a 1% fall for shares in BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
The FTSE 250 index continues to power further into record territory, rising another 132.39 points to 22,652.76 after big gains of more than 2% for “reopening” stocks Greggs and Upper Crust retail business SSP.
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Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group was also 13p higher at 515p after a landmark session for one of its investments. Studio Retail Group, which is 37% owned by the Sports Direct retail chain, disclosed that it had sold its Findel Education division for £30 million and ended its own formal sale process after a record trading performance for the year to March 26.
Studio Retail shares were 6% or 17p higher at 307p.
