BEN AINSLIE TAKES OWNERSHIP OF SAILGP TEAM
HOMENEWSINDUSTRY NEWSBEN AINSLIE TAKES OWNERSHIP OF SAILGP TEAM
07 Oct 2021
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Sir Ben Ainslie, CEO of the Great Britain SailGP Team, at the wheel of the British F50 Photo: Javier Salinas for SailGP
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SAILGP
The British SailGP team has become the first of the eight SailGP teams to become a third party-owned franchise with Olympic sailor and America’s Cup winner, Sir Ben Ainslie, taking the majority share.
When Sir Ben entered SailGP for Season two, he secured an option from Russell Coutts and Larry Ellison to take ownership of the team franchise if the team’s running costs and liabilities were covered in full. Through an investment from Chris Bake this option has now been exercised and Sir Ben and Chris Bake now take majority ownership of the team with Larry Ellison’s Oracle Racing Inc retaining a minority equity.
Elevating the profile of sailing
“When I was first invited to lead the Great Britain SailGP Team by Russell Coutts, I was immediately impressed by Russell’s and Larry Ellison’s vision of a global, sport and sustainable racing circuit which could really elevate the profile of sailing and provide continuity, which I have always been very much aligned to,” said Sir Ben.
One of the first projects Chris will work with SailGP on is biofuel solutions to support the league’s transition to ‘100% nature power’ by 2025 both on and off the water. He is also keen to promote diversity and inclusion within the sport. “Over the past couple of years I have been very impressed and supportive of the work SailGP is doing in this space, particularly through their gender equity initiative,” he said.
via Boating Business | Ben Ainslie takes ownership of SailGP team.