The fund will invest in the commercial areas of global sports, such as entertainment rights, sports equipment and equity investments.

German banking group Donner & Reuschel has launched a new alternative investment fund targeting returns on investments in professional sports. The bank says it is the first fund of its kind.

The fund will take advantage of long-term growth trend in global sports, the firm said in a statement.

It will invest in the commercial areas of sports with a focus on football and entertainment rights, which includes broadcasting rights, equity investments in clubs and equipment suppliers, and sports properties such as stadiums and training centres for top athletes. 

Donner & Reuschel will be both the custodian and the exclusive sales partner, while HANSAINVEST (Hanseatische Investment-GmbH, Hamburg, Germany) will be the capital management company.

According to the firm, few other business sectors have grown as fast in recent years as professional sports. In football, for example, both the value of the European professional clubs and the prices for broadcasting rights have increased by around 9 per cent per annum since the turn of the millennium.

“With this innovative idea, we are giving investors access to a brand new asset class that was previously only available to private equity firms and corporations,” adds Thomas Ronfeld, head of primary markets at Donner & Reuschel.

Donner & Reuschel provides private banking services and products. The company offers financial planning, estate planning, asset management, investments, and trading services to institutional clients.

There have been other investment initiatives linked to sport. Earlier in November in the US, for example, Ben Sutton Jr, an entrepreneur in the sports and entertainment industry, formed a private equity company called Teall Investments, as reported by this publication's sister news service, Family Wealth Report.