Charlton owners test London premium after promotion gains

Charlton Athletic’s US ownership group have appointed Oakwell Sports Advisory to approach investors, opening the door to a full sale three years after acquiring the club for about £15m.A sales presentation describes Charlton as “the last remaining football club upside opportunity in London” and argues that promotion, commercial expansion and investment in the women’s team could deliver equity growth of between five and 10 times.Charlton chairman Gavin Carter said: “There is interest in investing in Charlton. I said at the time there wasn’t any pressing need to do this. But looking at your capital structure and raising capital is sensible, particularly when you’ve got the strategy we have got. That process is ongoing.”Carter said: “Finding the right partner is more important than the money, to be honest with you. If we had to have the money then we could have brought money into the football club. That is not the case. It is finding the right partners to build the right capital structure. That takes time.”Global Football Partners, led by Gabriel Brener, acquired Charlton through SE7 Partners in 2023 and are expected to seek several times their original investment after the men returned to the Championship and the women won promotion to the Women’s Super League.The ownership group have also invested in the first-team squad, stadium facilities and training infrastructure, although Charlton do not own either The Valley or their Sparrows Lane training ground.Both properties remain controlled by former owner Roland Duchâtelet, with Charlton extending their leases until 2040 last year after considering alternative stadium options.Carter said: “If we can find the right person to support our growth within the current structure then that is something we will consider. As a fan of the club, I’ve seen good owners, bad owners and very bad owners. It is important to me that the right people run the club and anyone we do look to bring in would need to buy into that.”The stadium arrangement could reduce the valuation available to the current owners because a buyer would acquire the football operation without control of its principal property assets.Charlton’s ability to consolidate in the Championship and fund their women’s team in the WSL will now shape whether Oakwell can secure a minority investor or deliver the club’s fifth ownership change in six years.