Latest news with #MatthewBenham
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Will Bees break transfer record for Hutchinson?
If Brentford are to sign Ipswich's Omari Hutchinson, they will have to make him the most expensive player in their history - having already had a £35m bid turned only player the Bees have paid £30m or more for is Brazilian striker Igor Thiago, who has started just one Premier League game since joining last summer because of a knee Kevin Schade briefly became the Bees' record buy when his loan move from Freiburg was made permanent two years ago, but that deal was eclipsed when Nathan Collins arrived from Wolves for £23m a month Brentford's recruitment has largely been funded by player sales, their spending shows just how far they have progressed under owner Matthew Benham. It was as recently as 2014 that they made their first seven-figure signing, paying £1m to Leyton Orient for Moses Odubajo.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brentford: Premier League side land new investment from Hollywood director
Brentford have announced the arrival of two minority shareholders, with one of them a major Hollywood name. Film director Sir Matthew Vaughn and philanthropist Gary Lubner have purchased stakes in the Bees. Advertisement Matthew Benham, the club confirm, remains the majority shareholder. Brentford had been searching for fresh impetus at board level earlier this year, with Benham appointing Rothschild to help manage a potential sale of a stake in the club. The news first emerged in December last year that Benham was considering both a majority and a minority sale, and he has now settled on a minority-stake deal with Vaughn and Lubner. The footballing authorities - chief executive Jon Varney, director of football Phil Giles, and chairman Cliff Crown - will all remain in their current roles. In a statement on the club's website, Brentford said that the investment 'reinforces Brentford's ambitions for continued growth on and off the pitch. Equity and financing from the new shareholders will not only enable greater investment in the squad but also create enhanced commercial opportunities and help grow Brentford's reach and impact locally and beyond.' Advertisement Chief executive Varney believes the investment will help the club build on its recent success - a 10th-placed finish in the Premier League last term - and he insisted that Vaughn and Lubner were 'aligned' with the club's values. Brentford are preparing for their fifth season in the top flight, but it will be their first without Thomas Frank in the dugout after the Dane departed for Tottenham. Now, they have a fresh face, first-time manager Keith Andrews. Sir Matthew Vaughn and his wife, Claudia Schiffer (Getty Images) Who are Brentford's new co-owners? Vaughn is one of the most revered British filmmakers. He founded MARV Studios, which has been responsible for the production of films such as the Kingsman franchise, Kick-Ass, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Advertisement He was knighted last year in the Prime Minister's Resignation Honours for services to the creative industries. He married former supermodel Claudia Schiffer in 2002. Lubner, meanwhile, is the founder of This Day Foundation - a charity aimed at providing opportunities to young people from all walks of life. He was also the chief executive of Belron, the leading vehicle glass repair company. Speaking of his new investment, Vaughn said that the west London club had first been brought to his attention by an actor, who called the Bees 'a great club to invest in'. 'My journey with Brentford began 25 years ago when an actor suggested it would be a 'great club to invest in' and I've followed their progress ever since with well-earned respect,' Vaughn said. Advertisement "Some years later, an agent made the same suggestion and so I went to a game, and it was the most unique, intimate, and yet epic match I had ever been to. "As he showed me around the stadium and introduced me to the brilliant owner and exceptional management team, all I could hear was the voice of the actor who first told me about the club echoing in my head, saying 'You should have listened to me, it would have been much cheaper 25 years ago!' He added that he wanted to build on the 'amazing foundations' at the Gtech Community Stadium. 'There is a uniquely universal respect for this club in the football world, and I too share in this admiration deeply,' Vaughn continued. Advertisement 'So here I am, embarking on a new chapter of my life where I will give my all to help build on the amazing foundations that have been laid on and off the pitch.' Lubner said that he was looking forward to bringing the club closer to it communities.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Premier League club Brentford to sell stake at £400m valuation
The owner of Brentford Football Club has clinched a deal to sell a minority stake in the Premier League side to new investors at a valuation of roughly £400m. Sky News has learnt that an agreement that will involve current owner Matthew Benham offloading a chunk of his holding to Gary Lubner - the wealthy businessman who ran Autoglass-owner Belron - is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday. Matthew Vaughn, the Hollywood film-maker whose credits include Layer Cake and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, is also expected to invest in Brentford as part of the deal, The Athletic reported last month. Further details of the transaction were unclear on Monday night, although one insider speculated that it could ultimately see as much as 25% of the club changing hands. If confirmed, it would underline the continuing interest from wealthy investors in top-flight English clubs. FA Cup winners Crystal Palace have seen a minority stake being bought by Woody Johnson, the New York Jets-owner, in the last few weeks, with that deal hastened by the implications of former shareholder John Textor's simultaneous ownership of a stake in French club Lyon. Sky News revealed in February 2024 that Mr Benham had hired bankers at Rothschild to market a stake in Brentford. Under Mr Benham's stewardship, it has enjoyed one of the most successful transformations in English football, rising from the lower divisions to the top division in 2021. It has also moved from its long-standing Griffin Park home to a new stadium near Kew Bridge. This summer is proving to be one of transition, with manager Thomas Frank joining Tottenham Hotspur and striker Bryan Mbeumo the subject of persistent interest from Manchester United. Brentford did not respond to a request for comment on Monday night, while a spokesman for Mr Lubner declined to comment.
Sky News
14-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Premier League club Brentford to sell stake at £400m valuation
The owner of Brentford Football Club has clinched a deal to sell a minority stake in the Premier League side to new investors at a valuation of roughly £400m. Sky News has learnt that an agreement that will involve current owner Matthew Benham offloading a chunk of his holding to Gary Lubner - the wealthy businessman who ran Autoglass-owner Belron - is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday. Matthew Vaughn, the Hollywood film-maker whose credits include Layer Cake and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, is also expected to invest in Brentford as part of the deal, The Athletic reported last month. One insider suggested that the stake purchase would value the club at roughly £400m. Further details of the transaction were unclear on Monday night, although the insider speculated that it could ultimately see as much as 25% of the club changing hands. If confirmed, it would underline the continuing interest from wealthy investors in top-flight English clubs. FA Cup winners Crystal Palace have seen a minority stake being bought by Woody Johnson, the New York Jets-owner, in the last few weeks, with that deal hastened by the implications of former shareholder John Textor's simultaneous ownership of a stake in French club Lyon. Sky News revealed in February 2024 that Mr Benham had hired bankers at Rothschild to market a stake in Brentford. Under Mr Benham's stewardship, it has enjoyed one of the most successful transformations in English football, rising from the lower divisions to the top division in 2021. It has also moved from its long-standing Griffin Park home to a new stadium near Kew Bridge. This summer is proving to be one of transition, with manager Thomas Frank joining Tottenham Hotspur and striker Bryan Mbeumo the subject of persistent interest from Manchester United.
Sky News
14-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Premier League club Brentford to sell stake at £400m-plus valuation
The owner of Brentford Football Club has clinched a deal to sell a minority stake in the Premier League side to new investors at a valuation of more than £400m. Sky News has learnt that an agreement that will involve current owner Matthew Benham offloading a chunk of his holding to Gary Lubner - the wealthy businessman who ran Autoglass-owner Belron - is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday. Matthew Vaughn, the Hollywood film-maker whose credits include Layer Cake and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, is also expected to invest in Brentford as part of the deal, The Athletic reported last month. One insider suggested that the stake purchase would value the club at between £400m and £450m. Further details of the transaction were unclear on Monday night, although the insider speculated that it could ultimately see as much as 25% of the club changing hands. If confirmed, it would underline the continuing interest from wealthy investors in top-flight English clubs. FA Cup winners Crystal Palace have seen a minority stake being bought by Woody Johnson, the New York Jets-owner, in the last few weeks, with that deal hastened by the implications of former shareholder John Textor's simultaneous ownership of a stake in French club Lyon. Sky News revealed in February 2024 that Mr Benham had hired bankers at Rothschild to market a stake in Brentford. Under Mr Benham's stewardship, it has enjoyed one of the most successful transformations in English football, rising from the lower divisions to the top division in 2021. It has also moved from its long-standing Griffin Park home to a new stadium near Kew Bridge. This summer is proving to be one of transition, with manager Thomas Frank joining Tottenham Hotspur and striker Bryan Mbeumo the subject of persistent interest from Manchester United.
