British Basketball League: US investment company buys 45% stake

The British Basketball League was founded in the 1980s

United States-based investment company 777 Partners has bought a 45% stake in the British Basketball League.

The deal comes at the start of a five-year plan to develop the sport in the UK, with initial funding of £7m.

London Lions, one of 10 BBL franchises, are already owned by the Miami-based company, along with European football clubs Sevilla and Genoa.

BBL chairman Sir Rodney Walker said the deal would enable them to "fast track" their "big ambitions" for the sport.

"Basketball is unique in its ability to reach across cultural, societal and economic divides and in its ability to engage with a young, diverse audience," he said.

"There is therefore huge potential to use the transformative power of sport for the benefit of our growing audience and to increase the impact we can deliver from the grassroots to the very top of the professional game."

Basketball is the second-most played team sport in the UK, with a quarter of teenagers involved in at least two games a month - and 47% of them from non-white backgrounds, according to Sport England figures.

The development plan will be targeted at all levels of the UK game, from grassroots upwards.

The BBL hopes to add four new "high-quality" franchises within the next five years.

"Central to the league's plan is the creation of a new leadership team - including the appointment of a new CEO - to drive the league forward," said a BBL statement.

Leicester Riders won the BBL championship for the fifth time in April, beating Cheshire Phoenix 97-65, while London Lions won the 2020-21 BBL Trophy and lost to Newcastle Eagles in the BBL Play-Offs final.