Ipswich Town owners exploring £350m takeover valuation

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Investors within Ipswich Town ownership group Gamechanger 20 Limited are exploring takeover or part-takeover options, EFL Analysis understands.

Ipswich were relegated from the Premier League last season, which was their first in the top flight since 2001-02. After back-to-back promotions in 2022-23 and 2023-24, Kieran McKenna remains in charge.

It is not known at this stage whether the owners – whose consortium is comprised of 14 individual shareholders, including a 1.4 per cent stake held by the musician Ed Sheeran – are seeking a full takeover, minority investment or simply stress-testing their valuation.

The two biggest investors in Gamechanger 20 Limited are the US private equity firm Bright Path and ORG, an Arizona-headquartered pension fund.

ORG previously owned 90 per cent of the club, reducing its stake to around 50 per cent with a £105m equity sale to Bright Path in March last year.

Three Lions Ipswich LP – which is headed up by American investors Brett Johnson, Berke Bakay and Mark Detmer – also bought a five per cent stake. The trio also own small stakes respectively on an individual basis.

Ipswich Town owners valuing the club at £350-375m

The would-be structure of a takeover or minority investment in Ipswich isn’t clear, but the owners are understood to be inviting proposals at a valuation of £350-375m.

Another potential provision of a sale would be that, if the club isn’t promoted before 2027-28, the price could fall by £50m, which would be returned to the buyer as rebate by Gamechanger.

Exactly how one values a football club is a subject of much debate in football finance, but a multiple of revenue is often used as a starting point, before looking at net assets, discounted cash flow, EBITDA, brand IP and a number of other metrics.

When Ipswich were last in the second tier, 2023-24, a £350-375m valuation would have been an almost 10x multiple of revenue.

However, parachute payments are expected to be worth in the region of £90m to the Portman Road club over the next two seasons.

Ipswich’s revenue in 2023-24, the last financial year on record, was £37.3m. That was one of the highest of any Championship clubs who weren’t receiving parachute payments.

Their strong commercial (£16.5m) and matchday income (£10.5m) means they will likely generate £90-100m in turnover next season, with parachute payments and central EFL media income taken into account too.

Those involved in the sale process say they are valuing the club at a 3.3x multiple of revenue, though they also include player sale profits in that analysis.

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£350-375m would be a takeover record for a Championship club – and by quite a margin.

In English football terms, only Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, West Ham and Wolves have sold stakes at a higher valuation.

Club values – according to both analysts and investors – have almost always trended up and to the right, comfortably outperforming indexes like the S&P 500.

If Gamechanger sell part of their stake in Ipswich for £350m, it will be a huge markup.

Wrexham, who – like Ipswich – will be one of the biggest-revenue non-parachute payment clubs next season, are valuing themselves at around £350m.

Sheffield United meanwhile were recently sold for around £110m.