LIV Golf under ‘pressure’ but is ‘the future of the game’, says CEO O’Neil Sport Business LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil says the breakaway tour is facing a “moment of pressure” but has dismissed suggestions that it is on the verge of collapse. Reports this week stated that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund could withdraw its funding of LIV Golf, having spent more than $5bn on bankrolling the signing of stars [...]
London Lions CEO: We’d love to be in NBA Europe but we have a reason to exist anyway Sport Business London Lions CEO Lenz Balan on the club’s NBA Europe ambitions and the challenges of making British basketball financially sustainable. “I’m, like, an irrational optimist,” says London Lions CEO Lenz Balan as he explains why he views the impending arrival of an NBA Europe team on his patch as an opportunity, not a threat. The [...]
NBA Europe: Bids top $1bn as London team proves hottest property – sources Sport Business The NBA and its advisors have received several bids in excess of $1bn for teams in its proposed European league, according to sources close to the process. The US basketball league and its advisors, JP Morgan and the Raine Group, have begun sifting through non-binding offers for the 12 permanent franchises in the new competition [...]
Momentum 25 and the reality of Saudi Arabia’s mega-projects December 11, 2025 The ‘Momentum 25’ conference is taking place in Riyadh this week, at a definitive juncture for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The midpoint of the Vision 2030 timeline, launched in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to diversify the nation’s economy away from hydrocarbon dependence. For nearly a decade, the global business community has [...]
Tennis chiefs risk angering players by adding Saudi Masters event to calendar October 23, 2025 The ATP is to add a new Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia despite complaints from some top tennis players that the calendar is already too congested. The Saudi Masters event could become a fixture on the men’s elite tour as soon as 2028, with February earmarked as the most likely window but not yet [...]
Sir Rocco Forte enjoys record pay day after hotels empire deal August 13, 2025 The hotels group founded by Sir Rocco Forte has issued a record dividend for the first full year after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) became a major shareholder. Rocco Forte Hotels has paid out dividends totalling £8.9m for the year to 30 April, 2025, to its shareholders. The international hotels group, which is headquartered in [...]
Surj leads £30m investment in T100 to bolster Saudi Olympic ambitions July 28, 2025 Saudi Arabia’s Surj Sports Investment has backed T100 to be the “growth engine” for triathlon after leading a £30m funding round in its parent organisation, the PTO. Surj, an arm of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) with stakes in Dazn, the Professional Fighters League and Kings League, was the biggest backer of the PTO in [...]
Surj Sports chief: Saudi parent PIF, investing and league focus July 1, 2025 Chief executive of Dazn investors Surj Sports Investments Danny Townsend discusses the state of the changing landscape. When Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund purchased Premier League club Newcastle United in 2021, Middle Eastern sports spending was thrust into the voyeuristic forefront of executive and fan consciousness. Since then Saudi Arabia has invested in a multitude [...]
Fifa strengthens Saudi ties as PIF joins Club World Cup sponsors June 6, 2025 Fifa has further strengthened its ties with Saudi Arabia after its Public Investment Fund (PIF) agreed a long-term commercial partnership beginning with this month’s Club World Cup. PIF has become the eighth sponsor of the revamped tournament, joining global brands Visa, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Hisense, Lenovo, Budweiser and Qatar Airways. Beyond that, the partnership [...]
Aston Martin: PIF and Geely billionaire’s shares shift after investment May 12, 2025 The proportion of shares Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Chinese billionaire Shufu Li’s hold in luxury car brand Aston Martin has changed following a major shares issue. In March Yew Tree Consortium, which is led by chairman Lawrence Stroll, placed 75 million additional shares in the London-listed business. As a result, both the value of the [...]