Deutsche Bank looks to boost loans for rich clients’ sports bets

Published Wed, Feb 11, 2026 · 08:32 PM

[FRANKFURT] Deutsche Bank is ramping up efforts to finance sports investments for super-rich clients as the sector increasingly attracts higher valuations and matures as an asset class.

Germany’s biggest bank appointed Sowmya Kotha in London and Joshua Frank in New York to focus on the sports sector in Europe and the US, according to a statement on Wednesday (Feb 11) from the Frankfurt-based firm. The pair of executives and Deutsche Bank veterans, both of whom work in the financing unit of the company’s wealth business, will report to Adam Russ, head of wealth management and business lending.

“Sports has become a globally recognised investment category,” Claudio de Sanctis, head of the lender’s private bank, said in the statement. “And our clients are increasingly active participants.”

Some of the world’s richest families are joining global asset managers including Apollo Global Management and Ares Management in pushing deeper into sports as team values boom, partly due to robust television ratings producing attractive revenue streams.

Billionaires with sports investments include India’s Mukesh Ambani, France’s Bernard Arnault and Josh Harris in the US, all of whom made their fortunes in other industries. The three have a combined net worth of about US$292.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with their holdings in sports ranging from football to cricket to basketball.

While some of Deutsche Bank’s European clients have sports-related investments, those from the US are up to three times more likely to have allocations to the sector, according to the statement.

“When we look at money flows coming into this asset class, our thesis is that European families are missing out on sports,” Arjun Nagarkatti, head of the lender’s private bank for the US and Europe International, said in an interview. “Americans view this as an asset class.”

Still, some wealthy Europeans have been actively pursuing sports deals, including ammunition tycoon Michal Strnad, who acquired a majority stake in Czech football club FC Viktoria Plzen for an undisclosed amount last year. UK industrialist Jim Ratcliffe, meanwhile, took control of Manchester United’s football operations in 2024 after spending about US$1.5 billion to buy roughly a third of the team, adding to a sports empire that already included French and Swiss soccer clubs.

The UK’s Premier League is a possible area of focus for Deutsche Bank’s expanded initiative, Nagarkatti said, while women’s teams and other sports are also in the lender’s sights.

Sports need “to be part of a broader discussion in terms of how you allocate assets and the risk appetite you have,” he said. “There’s a proven, long-term track record of people holding onto teams, building stadiums, adding value and seeing valuations go up.” BLOOMBERG