APEX, a Oeiras-based funding agency specialising in sports activities property, has introduced the launch of a brand new personal fairness fund focusing on €300 million ($350 million) to again minority investments in European sports activities groups, leagues, and associated companies, with a deal with small to mid-size property traditionally ignored by bigger institutional traders.
The brand new fund will deal with buying stakes starting from 20% to 49% in ventures with valuations between €51 million ($60 million) and €510 million ($600 million). With ticket sizes between €12.8 million ($15 million) and €42 million ($50 million), APEX goals to execute 10 to twenty offers over the following decade.
“I consider there’s a actual alternative in groups, leagues, and property that need to develop with out giving up management,” says António Caçorino, founder and CEO of APEX.
APEX’s launch of a brand new fund comes towards a 2025 European sports activities and SportsTech panorama during which funding rounds stay comparatively modest.
Startups comparable to ReSpo.Vision (€4.2 million, Poland), ScorePlay (€12.5 million Sequence A), SponsWatch (€1 million Seed, Sweden), Sports Impact Technologies (€650k pre-Seed, Eire), and Model Health (≈€800k, Belgium/US hybrid).
These startups have collectively totalled simply over €19 million in disclosed 2025 capital.
EU-Startups has additionally coated APEX itself as an investor, noting its participation in aforementioned Mannequin Well being and ScorePlay, in addition to Output Sports (€4.5 million), highlighting its established position in SportsTech enterprise funding.
In opposition to this backdrop, APEX’s new fund represents a shift in scale and focus: quite than backing early-stage expertise firms, it goals at minority or selective majority stakes in European sports activities groups and leagues.
The distinction between the sector’s early-stage funding ranges and APEX’s €300 million car underscores how the agency is positioning itself between startup-driven innovation and institutional-level possession of sports activities property, an area EU-Startups protection suggests stays comparatively open in 2025.
Based in 2020, APEX initially constructed its observe file by way of a €51 million ($60 million) enterprise capital fund launched three years in the past. That fund has attracted over 100 skilled athletes from 17 sports activities, together with Formulation 1 drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. In September, Crimson Bull’s funding arm additionally joined as an investor.
The agency’s previous investments embrace stakes in Formulation 1 group Alpine and Italian soccer membership Venezia FC. Nonetheless, with its earlier offers capped at underneath 20% possession, Caçorino says the agency is now in search of extra significant affect and governance in its future targets.
“We really feel that we will deploy much more,” Caçorino says. “However I believe it’s at all times good to have your goal a bit bit beneath the place your sensible pipeline is so that you just be sure you’re actually investing in the very best offers.”
The agency is focusing closely on the European market, which Caçorino sees as wealthy in untapped potential.
In comparison with the extremely commercialised US market, Europe’s smaller golf equipment and leagues typically undergo from restricted entry to development capital and structural obstacles. However in accordance with APEX, these situations additionally make them much less risky, with fewer regulatory dangers and a decrease total value of entry.
Past minority fairness, the fund has allotted 15% of its capital for U.S.-based alternatives – probably together with a stake in an NBA franchise – and one other 15% for outright buyouts. This may mark APEX’s first foray into controlling stakes, although Caçorino famous this might doubtless be restricted to smaller European properties in soccer or motorsport.
Caçorino believes APEX is strategically positioned between sellers of area of interest property and huge patrons who sometimes enter at scale. “There’s nonetheless a giant disparity between individuals that may doubtlessly promote and the larger traders,” he says. “In order that places us in an attractive candy spot.”
Alongside its sports activities fairness technique, APEX sees synergies with its enterprise portfolio, which incorporates firms comparable to TMRW Sports activities (based by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy), efficiency analytics agency Output, and AI media platform ScorePlay. This dual-pronged mannequin may permit the agency to experiment with cross-pollination between tech and group investments.
Wanting ahead, Caçorino hinted at ambitions past Europe, together with Asia and South America, and is already laying plans for an additional enterprise fund subsequent 12 months.
“I believe with sports activities typically, whoever’s been studying the information and simply been within the sector and searching on the alternatives within the pipeline, the time is now,” Caçorino says. “We’re a five-year-old enterprise, and the final 5 years have been essential for sports activities.”
